A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 19

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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 19. You Have a Friend (3)

Garam’s hand shot up high.

For a moment, the air inside the preschool became quiet.

However, the child’s eyes were not quiet at all.

They sparkled like a river reflecting the sun on a clear day.

“Teacher! Ajin has something to say!”

Garam had done it.

What shouldn’t have happened had happened.

Garam shouted with a bright voice.

Hearing that voice, Cha Yu-ra smiled brightly and said to Ajin.

“Ajin wants to present? Then, shall we come to the front?”

Everyone’s gaze poured onto Ajin.

Under those gazes, Ajin just stayed still.

No, it wasn’t staying still—she couldn’t do anything.

Ajin was gripping a crayon tightly in her hand, breathing heavily.

Silence continued.

“Ajin…?”

Cha Yu-ra called gently.

But there was no response.

The child whose face had turned pale couldn’t answer.

In the Moran Class where silence still continued, Ajin’s head slowly turned.

Ajin looked at Garam.

And then immediately lowered her head.

I watched Ajin staring only at the floor and thought.

‘As expected…’

Ajin was a child who wanted to speak but still lacked the courage to bring it out.

“Heeseong, Ajin is…”

“Wait. Let’s be quiet for now.”

I cut off Aeyeon’s whisper in my ear and looked at Ajin.

At the same time, I looked around the Moran Class.

Everyone’s gaze was directed at Ajin.

“Ah… ah…”

The sound that flowed from Ajin’s mouth was so fragile it seemed like it would disappear at any moment.

None of the children could hear it.

Suddenly, Garam’s face hardened.

The brightly smiling expression stiffened, showing confusion.

‘This is why touching children’s hearts isn’t easy…’

The brief silence disappeared and murmuring began.

Cha Yu-ra clapped her hands lightly with a troubled expression.

“Good! Thank you all for preparing your presentations! Let’s talk more later while having snacks!”

At Cha Yu-ra’s applause, everyone looked forward.

However, only three people looked at one place.

Ajin’s shoulders were trembling.

Garam’s eyes were also trembling.

For both of them, an unwanted result had occurred.

The hand raised with good intentions fell powerlessly.

‘This is a big problem.’

I looked at Aeyeon.

Aeyeon also seemed to realize that the atmosphere around wasn’t normal, as her expression had hardened.

The situation had gotten even worse.

***

Time passed like that.

The drowsy afternoon after lunch time ended.

Some children headed to another classroom to take naps.

Hanseol Preschool had a classroom for children who wanted to sleep.

Normally I would have gone too, but today I held back my sleepiness.

The other three children besides me absolutely wouldn’t sleep.

‘What should I do…’

I fell into worry.

Garam’s well-intentioned action had actually worsened the relationship between the two.

What method could there be to make these two get along?

‘More than that, why am I worrying about this… An adult getting involved in children’s fights.’

As I was just sitting there blankly, Park Jeong-a approached.

“Heeseong, are you sleepy? Shall we go take a nap?”

I shook my head at her question.

Honestly speaking, I was sleepy.

I desperately wanted to sleep.

I wished a fluffy blanket would cover my body, but I was enduring as much as possible.

“Then what were you doing?”

“I was watching those children.”

“Children? Heeseong talks just like an adult?”

“Hehe…”

“If you want to play with friends, you can just go play with them.”

Park Jeong-a seemed to think I was quietly watching because I wanted to play with the children.

In a way, that was correct, so I didn’t strongly deny it.

After all, playing was all I did at preschool anyway, so it wasn’t exactly wrong, right?

“It’s not that…”

“Heeseong, if you’re bored, could you help the teacher?”

“Huh?”

“The teacher needs to distribute some pictures, and it would be nice if Heeseong helped.”

At her words, I looked toward where the children were.

Worrying here wouldn’t lead to any good conclusion.

And I had nothing to do anyway.

I should help Park Jeong-a to wake myself up too.

Maybe if I did well, she might give me some kind of reward.

“Hmm…”

I pondered.

Look at those two people holding their heads and struggling.

If I left them alone, something would definitely happen.

My intuition was telling me so.

“I’ll become friends with Ajin.”

I said only that.

Park Jeong-a looked surprised at my words for a moment.

Then after thinking briefly, she smiled and said.

“I’ll trust you.”

And left.

What?

Even Cha Yu-ra, who had been watching other children in the distance, was looking this way?

For now, it wasn’t time to worry about the teachers.

Right now it was Aeyeon, Garam, and Ajin.

It was time to resolve the relationship between these three people.

***

I sat quietly and began organizing the situation.

I was listening to Aeyeon and Garam’s conversation from not too far away.

“Why didn’t Ajin do the presentation?”

Garam tilted her head.

Just like Aeyeon had done before, her head was tilted 90 degrees to the right.

“I wonder.”

The combination of these two girls was unexpected.

One was a pretty child with straight black hair and droopy eyes.

One was a child with slightly dark brown hair and cat-like eyes.

‘Why are those two sticking together so closely?’

It seemed to be because Garam had good social skills.

However, despite Garam being there, the other children weren’t approaching at all.

Aeyeon, who didn’t know that she was the reason, said.

“You have to do a presentation to make friends…”

“Why?”

“They said so on Chuchoo.”

“Uh-huh.”

Garam nodded vigorously.

Just like Aeyeon, Garam was also an avid viewer of Chuchoo.

That’s probably why I could understand the reason these two became friends.

I could tell from Ajin’s reaction when Aeyeon did her presentation earlier.

“What does Ajin like…?”

Garam said.

At those words, both of them began having the same worry.

Aeyeon thought it would be nice if the two of them made up.

Beneath that purpose lay her own feelings.

‘I saw it on Chuchoo… That’s definitely what they said, right?’

Garam seemed concerned about Ajin, who always played alone, so she tried to approach her.

She just wanted to draw together, but she made a mistake.

So she tried to apologize in her own way.

However.

‘They’re children. There’s no way it would go well.’

Then Garam, perhaps out of frustration, answered in a slightly loud voice.

“Aw! On Chuchoo, they became friends right away just by holding hands…”

Whether agreeing with that, Aeyeon also let out a deep sigh.

Two 5-year-old kids were worrying about it, but it didn’t seem like they’d reach a conclusion easily.

I stood up from my seat and said.

“Then how about this?”

At my words, the children turned to look at me.

Question marks appeared on both their faces.

I slowly told them the plan I had thought of.

“Draw pictures together with Ajin.”

“But I made a mistake…”

“It’s okay. This time, approach slowly.”

“Slowly? Why?”

At my words, Aeyeon’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Garam made a mistake, right? This time, ask very slowly.”

“Then I can play with Ajin?”

“I don’t know about that. But you’ll at least be able to talk.”

“Hmm…”

“Hmm…”

At my words, both of them fell into thought.

‘I’d like to tell the children to approach first, but.’

That wasn’t easy.

I didn’t know what might happen either.

Aeyeon might not know, but Ajin probably didn’t like Garam very much.

She had put her in a difficult situation twice now.

From Ajin’s perspective, being very shy with strangers, it wouldn’t be a very pleasant situation.

And there was no telling what Aeyeon might do.

“Then I’ll ask first.”

“Heeseong will?”

“Yeah.”

“I wanted to go first.”

“Aeyeon, let me go first this time.”

“Okay. Heeseong is like an adult.”

Aeyeon said with a giggle.

I was slightly flustered by that laugh, but I tried to maintain my expression.

Yoon Hee-seong as an adult keeps coming out.

While I was inwardly panicking, I heard Garam’s weak voice.

“But… what if Ajin says she doesn’t want to…”

Garam’s voice grew smaller and smaller.

Perhaps thinking that Ajin was having a hard time because of her, there was a shadow in her eyes.

A child could certainly think that way, but I didn’t think so.

“If she doesn’t want to, we won’t do it, and if she likes it, we’ll draw together.”

“Hmm…”

“If today doesn’t work, we can ask tomorrow.”

“I understand. I’ll trust Heeseong.”

Garam said with a slight smile.

I also responded with a slight smile.

I took a small breath and thought.

‘Good. First, ask slowly.’

Ajin was an innocent child.

Garam and Ajin were also innocent children.

I wanted to see those children playing together.

Children should get along together.

Unlike my past self.

‘Let’s not have random thoughts.’

I turned my head slightly to look at Ajin.

The child drawing in the corner.

The child who occasionally watched the other children.

‘That’s why Garam’s actions must have been confusing.’

It was a situation she had never experienced before, so she didn’t know what to do.

That’s why the method of approaching Ajin was very simple.

I just had to approach slowly until Ajin opened her heart first.

This usually solved most problems.

“Then I’ll go first.”

Aeyeon and Garam said with both hands clenched tightly.

Aeyeon, who had been giggling while looking at me, said.

“Yeah! Heeseong is like Chuchoo!”

“?”

“That’s right. Like a princess.”

“???”

What are they talking about.

Why are you turning me into a delicate princess in an instant.

If I kept talking with those kids, I felt like I’d really become a princess.

‘Ajin… Let’s take it slow for now.’

Ajin likes drawing.

So there was only one thing I could think to say.

Just one simple phrase.

‘Let’s suggest drawing together for now. And then…’

That’s when it happened.

“La-la-la♪!”

I heard very small melodies.

Another child was playing the small piano in the corner of Moran Class.

At the clear sound like young birds chirping, everyone’s gaze turned toward the corner.

“Oh! It’s the Chuchoo song!”

“You’re right?”

Garam raised her voice, and even the prim Aeyeon couldn’t hide her excitement.

All the children who liked something called Chuchoo headed toward where the piano was.

They gathered there chattering about what they liked.

But only one person.

Only Ajin couldn’t join in with them.

“With the power of magic♬!”

“The magical girl who heals everyone, Chuchoo♪!”

Hansul Preschool was a place where children who loved music gathered.

So both the children playing piano and the children singing were all enjoying themselves.

The music that moved people’s hearts wasn’t opera or classical, but some character’s theme song.

“Haha…”

Ajin hid her enjoyment.

But those little toes keeping the beat seemed to have no intention of hiding at all.

Tap tap.

They kept moving.

The hand holding the crayon was no longer drawing.

The eyes that had been looking at the sketchbook filled with green slowly turned and…

“…!”

Met my eyes.

Only then could I face them.

Not eyes filled with tears.

I finally saw a child’s eyes filled with curiosity.

Ajin wasn’t a child who only cried.

She was just shy.

Since she was a child with the eyes of someone who knew how to enjoy music, I became curious too.

About Ajin’s music.

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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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