A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 23

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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 23. Signpost (2)

“These are just songs I made on a whim. They’re not songs I plan to release to the public. Well, I might change my mind though.”

Aunt Sujin said this while clicking her mouse.

I thought about what kind of songs Aunt Sujin might have made.

Are they songs with vocals?

Is the genre pop? Rock wouldn’t be bad either.

Or maybe she composed them as classical pieces entirely.

Actually, whatever they were, all of Aunt’s songs would be good.

‘All the songs Aunt composed are good. I think Father and Mother said they’re popular with the public too.’

I had listened to many of Aunt Sujin’s songs.

Because my parents had played them for me a lot.

And at the same time, they told me about Aunt Sujin’s skills.

Father had explained that a producer is someone who completes songs.

So to put it simply.

If Father was someone who drew the blueprints needed to build a house.

Aunt Sujin was the person who built that structure and supervised all the interior design.

That’s why Aunt’s role in completing songs was enormously important.

The fact that people loved Aunt’s songs so much meant that her skills were that outstanding.

“How’s work at the company these days?”

“Ugh, I worked on three songs just two weeks ago. There’s too much work, so I’m taking a break lately.”

“That’s enough to deserve a break. So that’s why you made personal songs?”

“My head was complicated, so I just made various things. I told you. I have no intention of releasing them to the public.”

Aunt tapped the keyboard a few times, then opened a music file.

3123 Untitled.

Aunt’s personality showed in the concise file name.

From what I could see, it was a song about 7 minutes long.

It seemed like a song far from ordinary modern music.

Pop songs were usually around 3 to 4 minutes if they were short.

Aunt cleared her throat with a ‘Ahem!’ and said.

“The concept of this song is… well, I don’t know either. I’ve made so many.”

“Does it have vocals?”

“Not yet. I did think about lyrics, but you know I have no talent for writing.”

“That’s true.”

“Could you at least deny it?”

Aunt continued her serious conversation with Father.

Then her eyes met mine as I sat on Father’s lap.

She looked at me, smiled brightly, and said.

“Hee-seong, you’ll listen carefully to Aunt’s song, right?”

“Yes!”

“Phew, I’m suddenly getting nervous.”

“It’s not convincing when someone who’s written so many songs says that, you know?”

“Be quiet. Now, shall I play it?”

As soon as Aunt finished speaking.

Click.

She pressed the spacebar.

Music was flowing from the two speakers.

The song continued with the regular beat of drums leading the way.

The cello was supporting the solid drums and heavy organ sounds.

The beginning of the song continued with only these three instruments.

‘Oh, this is interesting?’

It was a new combination of familiar instruments.

I could describe it as dreamlike.

The cello’s low notes expressed the bleakness of a forest, while the organ represented the forest’s mist.

The drum’s kick was the heartbeat of a nervous intruder, and the hi-hat was the birds’ songs.

‘I’m a castaway.’

I didn’t particularly have experience being stranded.

Yet somehow I felt like I had lost my way.

More precisely, I could see such a scene.

The introduction made only of three instruments without any others was truly strange.

Then the shaker lightly went ‘sha-sha-shak’ as it passed through the heavy instruments.

It slightly loosened the serious atmosphere of the song.

‘I’m grateful to Father once again.’

Perhaps because he had taught me various things under the name of early education since I was a baby, I could tell what instrument it was as soon as I heard the sound.

Well, anyone could probably recognize this much.

In the heavy and dreamlike atmosphere, the sound of a xylophone could be heard.

‘Ding-dong-dang… It really catches the ear. Good.’

That gently resonating liveliness began to lighten the mood.

But I was still in the forest.

The refreshing sound of the xylophone couldn’t continue and was buried under the cello’s solemnity.

‘So this is that kind of song.’

There were songs like that.

Songs that, while listening, overwhelm you without you realizing it.

Songs with an atmosphere where you can’t do anything but just quietly concentrate.

But Aunt Sujin’s song wasn’t that type.

Rather, it was kind.

It was a song that made you trace back your own memories like hypnosis.

I intuited that atmosphere.

So I decided to try becoming a castaway myself.

‘Huh? Is it starting to change now?’

The song had been like this so far.

I was in the middle of some forest where mist was slowly rising.

A forest where you could hear frogs croaking and streams flowing.

Cello and organ.

The introduction where drums supported from behind and shaker and xylophone occasionally interjected was ending.

Instead, music with a new atmosphere was beginning.

The refreshing and mechanical performance of an electric guitar began.

As soon as the electric guitar appeared, the song’s atmosphere changed.

The dreamlike forest disappeared and a refreshing ocean appeared.

‘Wow… This is a good song.’

I couldn’t help but admire it.

It was a completely different song from the introduction.

I had thought it would be a very serious song because of the dreamlike atmosphere.

But breaking expectations, the refreshing sound of the electric guitar was welcoming me.

It was the sound of rock.

Not an orchestra where numerous instruments gather to amplify the sound, but a feast of a few instruments.

Even though the song’s atmosphere had changed, the organ continued as if to show it was still the same song.

‘The organ seems to be the center of this song. I can still see the mist.’

Mist was still draped over the seaside.

Though it was being buried under the electric guitar and drum sounds, the organ was still making its presence known from time to time.

‘The shaker and xylophone are also playing their roles.’

The shaker and xylophone weren’t staying still either.

The dreamy, irresistible mysterious sound was still being heard.

Then another guitar joined in.

It rang out very long, starting from high notes as if pulling the sound upward.

It was a technique I had seen in some video.

A technique where you scrape the strings with a guitar pick while climbing up.

‘Was that sound called a pick scrape?’

The role of the electric guitar up until now had been supporting.

But the role of the electric guitar I was hearing now was lead.

That’s right.

The highlight of this song was beginning.

‘There was a reason the beginning part was so quiet!’

The start of the song was definitely simple.

Repeating drum beats and quietly resonating organ.

And the occasionally heard shaker and xylophone gently tickled the ears.

Perhaps because there was no special stimulation, it made me want to listen more.

What kind of song was this?

Curiosity took the lead.

I listened carefully to small changes, curious about what sounds would come next.

While I was listening intently like that, the atmosphere of the song changed.

‘So this was meant to draw me in?’

The sudden appearance of the guitar changed the song’s atmosphere 180 degrees.

The song had somehow transformed into exciting rock. The calm beginning part had been an intentional device.

Juaaang-♪!

The electric guitar soared like crazy, with drums and bass guitar supporting from behind.

Other instruments were also subtly revealing their presence, making the song richer.

The lead guitar didn’t stop, pouring out its presence.

While playing the melody, it was changing the atmosphere of the song.

The gloomy and dreamy atmosphere was disappearing.

As the notes changed rapidly, the sound was becoming increasingly rich.

The organ, shaker, and xylophone were still gradually revealing themselves.

‘Oh! Even a trumpet?’

The trumpet was also telling me it was here with a very small sound.

The atmosphere of the song was reaching its climax.

This song was a journey to hear this part where all instruments came together to make sound.

Walking through the forest and hearing various sounds.

The reason for pushing through dreamy fog while hearing birds chirping and stepping on branches.

‘Wow…’

It was to see that sun rising over there.

The fog still existed.

But it just couldn’t be seen because of the rising sun.

Waves were lapping, and seabirds were crying.

Moving toward the ocean, small branches that had washed ashore were stepped on.

As the wind brushed my fingertips and the sound of rolling sand reached me, I unconsciously.

“Wow…”

Let out a small voice of admiration.

This song had a story.

And I was the listener hearing that story.

As if I had become the protagonist, I found myself completely absorbed without realizing it.

But every song has an ending.

‘Ah, it’s ending.’

All instruments simultaneously reduced their presence, and silence arrived.

In the terribly lonely silence, one instrument quietly revealed its presence.

‘It’s fog.’

It was the organ.

Slowly, but surely, it was ending the song.

The organ sent me back into the dark forest once more.

The song quietly ended like that.

‘This is what kind of song it was. I think I know what it is.’

So that was the purpose and narrative of this song.

It was a journey to see the rising sun.

‘I’m a castaway. Or maybe I’m an explorer.’

The xylophone wasn’t expressing freshness but coolness.

The shaker was some mysterious sound heard from far away.

It might be the sound of a beast stepping on branches.

The dreamy sound contained fear.

‘Like my past self.’

Clutching my severed finger, crossing that mountain not knowing what beasts might be there.

I thought of the past when I just ran without knowing when I would arrive.

To escape from the unwelcome guests chasing me, to survive, I ran looking only forward.

My past self.

This song was for people like that.

That’s how I felt.

‘Is it trying to express constantly running away?’

The organ was fog that captivated me.

It blocked the way ahead and made it impossible to know where I was going.

When nothing was visible, the wave-like guitar guided me.

Swoosh-

Toward that wave sound that wasn’t rough but just swept down the sand, I ran.

Like a dream in the middle of the night, the song was getting quieter and quieter.

Still, I was still running.

The music had ended, but.

‘Wow, wow…’

I was still in the song.

It was a song that made me feel like I would be in a forest if I closed my eyes like this.

“Hee-seong, how was it?”

Aunt Sujin’s voice woke me up.

I slowly turned my head to look at Aunt.

I could see Aunt’s face smiling slightly.

I spoke to Aunt like that.

“It’s incredibly cool!”

“Hahaha! Aunt’s the best, right? Amazing?”

“The best!”

“Aww! Our Hee-seong is so cute I could die!”

Aunt said that while rubbing my cheeks vigorously.

After rubbing like that for a while, she suddenly stopped talking and faced me directly.

I could see Aunt’s eyes clearly.

Aunt looked at me and said.

“Hee-seong, what did you feel while listening to this song?”

Father had said something like this before too.

It was similar to back then.

I felt many things from Aunt’s music.

Beyond simply what Aunt wanted to say, I felt like I could understand what was hidden within it.

‘But I’m not Aunt. I can only speak about what I feel.’

Music contains the composer’s story.

Whether it’s memories, ideals, or philosophy.

I simply listened and spoke.

“Uh… I was in a forest!”

“A forest? What kind of forest?”

“It was a forest filled with fog!”

I explained what I felt.

The fog and the chirping of birds.

Tree branches and rustling wind.

Waves and the rising sun.

“The fog disappeared! And, and uh…! There was a really big sun!”

“You felt that? Really…?”

“Yes! But at the end the sun disappeared. Still, I’m going to go look for the sun!”

Aunt suddenly became silent.

She just stared at me intently.

With her mouth tightly shut, I couldn’t tell what meaning was in her eyes.

Only then did I realize.

‘Huh?’

That the surroundings had become very quiet.

I looked around again.

Mother was smiling.

Contentedly, her eyes curved elegantly as if she was proud.

Father was the same way.

It was then that Aunt took my hand.

“Hee-seong! Then, what do you think is missing from this song?”

Something missing…

I didn’t know that.

Rather, I couldn’t even feel what might be missing.

‘Still, there is something I wish was there.’

I wandered through my thoughts.

‘Ah, I’ve had this feeling before.’

When Aeyeon played for me, I also felt like I was in a forest.

A forest thick with the scent of trees.

Back then it felt like I was a third party observer, but now it felt like I was directly in the forest.

‘Is there something in the forest?’

Well, I’ll figure that out gradually.

Thinking about Aunt’s question again, what would be good to have in a fog-filled forest.

Something to keep you from getting lost.

“I think it would be good to have signposts. That way I could find the sun faster!”

“…Signposts?”

“Yes!”

After hearing my answer, Aunt said nothing.

She simply smiled brightly and patted my head.

‘What? Oh no.’

I must be tired too, as I ended up yawning loudly from sleepiness.

Seeing this, Mother said.

“It is time for Hee-seong to sleep now. I’ll put him to bed and come back. You two talk.”

“Okay. Son, sleep well.”

“Good… yawn… night…”

“Sleep well, dear.”

“Aunt too, good…”

I gradually fell asleep while receiving their goodnight wishes.

With my still young body, sleepiness came quickly.

So now it was time to fall asleep.

***

“How was our son’s evaluation?”

Yoon Young-hoon had eyes mixed with curiosity and a bit of pride.

Sujin thought for a moment before speaking.

“Hee-seong is really 5 years old?”

Her expression was endlessly serious, and Young-hoon couldn’t help but be surprised by the conversation that followed.

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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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