A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 109. One Step Further (4)

“So I’m telling you Chuchoo is the strongest!”

“No! Pashu-man wins!”

“Hey, kids! Stop fighting…!”

As always, the children were noisy.

Just look at them now.

The sight of them arguing over which character was stronger was quite amusing.

“Phew…”

The cafe, now emptied of all customers, had returned to its usual quiet atmosphere.

Kim Sang-jin was completely exhausted, slumped over the table.

“Sangjin, good work.”

“Thank you…”

“But why did it suddenly become so popular?”

Curious about the reason, I asked carefully.

I had been thinking that I really needed to know why chocolate was suddenly trending.

It’s absolutely not because my hideout got taken over by other people.

Anyway, it’s not that.

“Oh, about that. You see that lady over there?”

At his words, I turned my head to look toward the counter.

There was a woman who looked somewhat bored now that things had calmed down a bit.

It seemed like that person was the one who had drawn the crowd.

“She said this was trending and suggested we try selling it too. Then word spread among people.”

“Ah.”

“Hee-yeong is really nice…!”

Looking from the side, she did seem to have a kind impression as Ajin said.

‘So there was a reason for her popularity after all.’

Then if word spread about Argo, would it become popular too?

That thought crossed my mind.

But there was no guarantee things would work out as planned.

After all, you can’t control people’s hearts.

And the reason Kim Sang-jin’s cafe was popular was probably because the drinks tasted good.

If they didn’t taste good, people wouldn’t have come looking for it.

‘So to make Argo popular, I need to create good music.’

I had to make music better than what I’d done so far.

That’s why I needed to study more.

What should I study?

Music, of course.

There was something I’d been thinking about.

However, it would be better to do that after finishing the movie music.

‘It’s a long road ahead.’

I sighed inwardly.

There were many things I wanted to do, but I didn’t have much time left.

Still, I had to do it – there was no choice.

‘At least it’s fun.’

I wouldn’t have started if I didn’t like it in the first place.

That’s just how life is.

***

In the evening, I came into my room.

The time spent at the cafe after so long was really good.

I even got some unexpected ideas.

‘I can’t implement them right away, but I can at least share my thoughts.’

Uncle Su-yeol or Jeong Yeong-ho might have already thought of it.

But even such people sometimes forget things, so it would be good to remind them once more.

The movie’s title was ‘One Step Further.’

And I planned to use the movie’s title to create the song.

Just like taking one step further, the song would also progress one step at a time.

But incorporating the theme would come later.

Right now, I would portray this old man’s humanity.

– It’s my fault…

The nameless old man often had those words on his lips.

I don’t know why he says such things.

Even after watching the movie and rereading the script, I couldn’t understand the reason.

It was natural.

His past wasn’t revealed at all.

However, while his personal past wasn’t shown, his human relationships were revealed.

At this point, the camera only showed the old man’s back.

It didn’t show his expression at all.

Therefore, his personal emotions, heart, and feelings weren’t dealt with at all.

‘Why is that?’

I dug deep into that part.

Like all art, I believed you only feel true enjoyment when you dig deep into anything.

Music was the same.

Why this technique was used, why this instrument was chosen.

Considering the era and environment, you could eventually infer the artist’s personal thoughts.

– Father!

The old man’s only family was his son.

From this, most things could be understood.

The reason he climbs the snowy mountain.

However, this part would be composed by Aunt Sujin and Father.

‘Even if I composed this part simultaneously, Father would compose it better than me.’

Because I had no experience of having children.

Neither in this life nor in my previous life.

On the other hand, Father had raised me.

So he would understand that old man’s heart better than I would.

‘The act of stealing something.’

I focused on the scene where the old man steals ham.

I kept thinking about it while watching the movie and even after it ended.

What’s the reason people steal something?

The biggest reason would be desire.

No, it was safe to say there were no other reasons.

Even the ham stolen due to hunger was because of desire.

“Then should I express desire?”

I scribbled the word in my notebook again.

Desire.

Should I express that emotion?

If desire was the main emotion in this scene, that wasn’t it.

Rather than desire, self-blame and self-loathing stood out more.

“It’s complex…”

At times like this, watching the movie again seemed like it would solve things.

Fortunately, Father had the video file, so we could watch it together.

“Huh?”

Standing in front of Father’s studio, I couldn’t bring myself to open the door.

I could see Father’s back, wearing headphones with his hair disheveled from not washing for days.

He looked very exhausted.

On the monitor, I could see the same measure playing repeatedly over and over.

Seeing him mentally pushed to his limits, I was at a loss for words.

‘…He needs to rest.’

Pushing yourself too hard doesn’t make the results any better.

A song born from a foggy state of mind gives off the same foggy feeling.

It creates a song where notes waver everywhere, nothing is clear, and everything is a mess.

So while I wished Father would rest a little, I also understood his feelings.

‘That damn time constraint.’

We didn’t have time.

We needed at least one song per day.

I had to pick up the pace, and Father and Aunt Sujin had to pick up the pace too.

Thinking of Father struggling alone at home while I was out having fun made me feel guilty.

“Father!”

“Huh, what?!”

Father was startled by my sudden call and turned around.

As expected, he looked haggard.

I could feel my heart aching.

‘We’re going to watch the movie together.’

But Father wouldn’t be able to watch the movie properly.

He might fall asleep right away from exhaustion, but that was what I wanted.

Not overexerting himself.

Falling asleep comfortably.

That was what I wanted.

“I want to watch that movie again!”

“…Should we?”

Father said that and struggled to get up from his seat.

He seemed dizzy too.

So we watched the movie once more in the living room, and Father soon fell asleep.

I brought a blanket to cover Father and then watched the movie.

– It’s my fault…

Those words somehow touched my heart.

***

The old man’s journey was a series of going against the flow.

It was a journey to overcome gravity that pressed down and pulled him from below to above.

With interference from snowstorms and bitter cold, and even threats from wolves.

His journey consisted of things that would inevitably defeat an ordinary person.

But the old man was victorious.

‘Life…’

He was victorious in life.

But victory wasn’t needed in the song I was about to compose now.

I would only deal with defeat.

Defeat stained with guilt.

Ding-♩

A low piano note stretched out long.

As it had been until now, somber notes continued.

The rhythm was breathing.

The old man’s breathing.

But that couldn’t be expressed with piano, nor did I intend to.

Right now I would only express that guilt tormenting the old man.

Music has progression.

What people commonly call descending and ascending.

This song would go downward, played with a feeling that drops people’s hearts downward.

‘That way listeners will feel something too.’

A slow and heavy song.

With that in mind, I slowly pressed my left hand.

Ding-♩

The old man was reaching out his hand.

In the dead of night, a quiet and cold night when everyone was asleep.

The old man’s footsteps were so light that the wooden house seemed unaware of his presence.

Unlike his slowly moving body, his heart was pounding.

The sweat flowing down his cheeks seemed to indicate his presence instead.

One step like that.

Every time he moved his foot, the piano moved simultaneously.

I was expressing exactly the movements shown in the movie.

‘Yes, advancing slowly like this.’

The old man’s hands gripping his backpack tightly were wrinkled.

I wanted to express him trembling in the bitter cold, but I held back.

That would be too much of a luxury.

Expressing everything about the old man would actually harm the song.

It was simple.

‘Because the old man had no leisure at all.’

Even expressing the old man’s current state of mind was difficult.

The emotions he must be feeling would be quite complex.

Right now I was busy expressing only the old man’s footsteps and his growing guilt.

Ding-♪

The piano stretched out long.

But that long-sustained note was uneasy.

It was a series of inconsistent sounds going back and forth between major and minor.

A song that makes people’s hearts uneasy.

‘That’s the old man’s heart.’

The movie scene was quite tense.

Stealing something in the first place was a very nerve-wracking thing.

What if I get caught?

That feeling was underlying everything.

The audience watching felt the same way.

Watching a scene that made your palms slightly sweaty was quite painful.

Perhaps I was more nervous than the old man.

– It’s my fault…

The old man spoke those words again.

Having tucked the ham into his coat, the old man looked back.

The woman who had willingly provided warm soup and shelter was sleeping.

– …

The old man was speechless.

There were no words he could say in the first place.

Guilt had sealed his mouth shut.

Leaving behind the house with warm and delicious food, he stepped outside.

A massive wind and snowstorm were raging.

Despite the weather being absolutely unsuitable for going outside.

– Ugh…!

He took a step forward.

Creak.

The door closed.

Ding-♬

At the same time, the piano ended as well.

‘…Still not enough.’

I listened to the piece I had composed.

Something felt completely empty.

It wasn’t precise, and seemed like it was composed haphazardly.

It was a difficulty I hadn’t felt in a long time.

But this was intentional.

‘Because the piano alone can’t express everything.’

In the process of the old man stealing the ham, there was something the piano didn’t express.

It was the old man’s breathing.

The movie showed his breathing very roughly.

It vividly showed that breathing gradually freezing due to tension and cold.

I wanted to use that breathing.

That’s why I deliberately played it to seem like something was missing.

‘It’s a place for the violin to enter.’

Grandfather Manbok’s violin.

I had asked him what loneliness and solitude meant, and after hearing his answer, I thought.

Let’s add Grandfather Manbok’s violin to this piece.

The violin had to enter into this empty, haphazard flow of the piano.

‘Otherwise the piece will be ruined.’

With that, I closed my notebook and turned off the piano.

And the next day.

I fell into despair.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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