A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 30

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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 30. Banana Pancake (1)

A languid morning.

Sitting in the back seat, I was deeply troubled by yesterday’s mistake.

Park Bom had asked me to play something, so I performed a piece I had composed in the past.

However, after the performance ended and the child left Moran Class.

“Wow, Heeseong! What’s the title of the song you just played? Can you tell Teacher too?”

I couldn’t answer that question.

Because the piece I had played had never been released to the world.

It was a song that existed only in my memory and sheet music, never made public.

‘Who knows. That bastard might have broken into my studio after I died.’

From what I had investigated, that wasn’t the case.

Of course, the pieces I had composed before were credited under that bastard’s name.

‘Sigh… Let’s not think about this now. There’s nothing I can do about it anyway.’

Fortunately, Father had come looking for me while I was flustered.

It was lucky that I didn’t mention the title, but I was worried this kind of situation might happen again.

So after much deliberation, I decided to only perform in front of children.

‘A little kid composing original pieces and playing them incredibly skillfully? That would be a bit strange.’

And I didn’t particularly want to attract attention either.

Composing was fine, but excessive attention had always been a burden.

Still, it would be worth performing at competitions and such.

Like a secret weapon to show the judges.

Imagining this was quite amusing.

“Son, anything interesting happening?”

As I was grinning to myself, Father, who was driving, seemed to have noticed.

I hastily mumbled an excuse.

“I, I was just thinking about the kids!”

“The kids? Ah, you mean your friends? Hahaha! You talk just like an old man, our Heeseong!”

“Yes, hehe…”

Through the mirror, I could see a smile forming on Father’s lips.

Even over trivial things, Father would always ask me questions, and I would answer them faithfully.

These conversations always made me feel good.

“Right, you could call them that too. Oh, that’s right. Son, Mother will pick you up today.”

“Why? Where are you going, Father?”

“I have some work to do with Aunt Sujin. Have something delicious with Mother. Got it?”

“Yes! Hehe, I should eat something delicious.”

Though I was disappointed not to go home with Father, going home with Mother was nice too.

We’d spend time at a cafe or go grocery shopping at the mart.

While thinking about how I’d go home with Mother, we arrived at the preschool before I knew it.

“Study hard today too. Daddy’s going now.”

“I’ll be back!”

I took the hand of the teacher who came to greet me and headed to Moran Class.

However, for some reason, I felt a bit uneasy.

Should I say it felt like something troublesome was about to happen?

“Heeseong! Teach me piano today!”

It was Park Bom.

Tsk, didn’t Aeyeon do this too?

I don’t know why these things keep happening to me.

No matter how much I lamented my fate, there seemed to be no way to stop that child.

“Bom, you need to go to your class.”

“B, but still…!”

“You have to be in your class in the morning. Shall we go together?”

“Ugh, yes…”

Park Bom was soon escorted away by Teacher Nari.

But she kept staring at me the entire time while moving to her class.

Her gaze was so intense that it made me uncomfortable.

‘Does she really want to learn?’

I tilted my head and thought about it.

In the first place, there was no reason for me to teach that child.

We were in different classes, and her daily visits were burdensome, so I could teach her once or twice.

But teaching her properly would be too exhausting for me.

Just Aeyeon alone was already difficult, and I was also teaching Garam and Ajin.

But Park Bom on top of that?

My energy would be drained so fast that not even ashes would remain.

“I should just attend class today. Maybe I’ll try composing when I get home?”

Come to think of it, I had a piano lesson with Jeong Mi-rae today.

I was looking forward to what interesting things might happen.

It felt like today would pass by quickly too.

***

“Why is Young Teacher here?”

Garam whispered in my ear.

As the child said, Jeong Mi-rae, who normally wouldn’t be here, was in Moran Class playing piano with the children.

It had been a very ordinary day of playing piano, eating, and taking naps.

However, due to her sudden visit, the children had gathered around her.

‘Well, maybe she just wanted to play with the kids more.’

Still, I was curious about why it had to be today.

“Teacher! But why are you playing with us today?”

Just then, one child asked a good question.

Jeong Mi-rae looked at the child, thought for a moment, then said.

“Teacher came here briefly for something to do and had some time left over. So I’m playing with all of you!”

“Teacher, Teacher! Please play an idol song!”

“No! Please do Pororo!”

The children were bickering with each other, asking her to play what they wanted to hear.

Park Jeong-a and Cha Yu-ra were stopping the children and creating order peacefully.

“Heeseong.”

“Hm? Aeyeon, where did you go?”

“I went to drink water. Tsk, I want to play together with Young Teacher too.”

“We did a lot together this morning. The other kids probably wanted to do it too.”

“Then, I’ll do it with Heeseong.”

“But there’s no piano?”

“Let’s ask Young Teacher to come out.”

“What about the other kids? Ajin is over there too?”

At my words, Aeyeon looked toward Jeong Mi-rae.

Small-bodied Ajin was smiling shyly from behind the other children.

Ajin, who usually only drew pictures, had been playing and having fun with us.

Now she had become able to express herself.

‘And she’s following along well with the playing too. She seems to have talent.’

Thinking about Ajin’s performance brought a smile to my face.

Though it had been a very short period, it was admirable how hard the child was trying to keep up.

“Hmm… Ajin does a lot with Heeseong. So it’s okay.”

“Aeyeon, you do it the most though?”

“No, I’m lacking. So let’s play piano together.”

“Hehe. This little one.”

“You’re a little one too.”

Conversations with Aeyeon felt like talking in 11 dimensions instead of 3 dimensions.

It was hard to know what she was usually thinking about.

At least I could understand Aeyeon’s thoughts when it came to Jeong Mi-rae, sweet food, piano, and things related to me.

‘It seems like she has some concerns about piano.’

Let’s think about that later.

“Teacher Yura! Heeseong’s mother is here. Aeyeon’s aunt is here too!”

“Got it! Heeseong, Aeyeon! Let’s go home!”

Now it was time to go home.

It seemed Aeyeon’s aunt had come early today.

Aeyeon and I shouldered our bags and headed toward the entrance of Hansul Preschool.

‘Huh?’

There was a completely unexpected scene.

‘Why is that lady here?’

Mother was having an intimate conversation with Aeyeon’s mother.

***

Lee Ye-eun was in a good mood from leaving work early.

She had successfully completed a project that had been going on until recently, and for the first time in a while, she came to pick up her daughter directly.

She entered Hansul Preschool while thinking about what to have for dinner.

“Oh? Aeyeon’s mother?”

At that moment, she was startled by a voice addressing her and turned around.

Shin Ji-eun was standing there.

It was a face she had seen on a Saturday not long after the preschool started.

When she was running around near the academy looking for her daughter.

So.

“Are you Heeseong’s mother?”

“Yes, nice to see you again, Ye-eun. Ah, I’m…”

“You must be Ji-eun? I showed you an embarrassing sight last time.”

“I would have done the same thing, so don’t worry about it. You came to pick up Aeyeon? Let’s go together!”

The two exchanged simple greetings.

To Lee Ye-eun, Shin Ji-eun was, how should she put it.

Someone who understood her.

Though it was a very brief conversation back then, she was truly grateful that Ji-eun had noticed and understood her feelings.

‘And I heard later that Heeseong helped a lot. He told her to try playing piano.’

Lee Ye-eun was curious about the child named Heeseong.

Heeseong was the only peer that Aeyeon talked about with a joyful smile.

She had friends named Garam and Ajin too, but she said she liked Heeseong the most.

“How is Aeyeon doing these days?”

“Aeyeon…?”

“Heeseong often talked about her. He said she plays piano very well.”

“Ahaha! Our child is the same. She only talked about Heeseong.”

While the two were talking about their children, they arrived at the entrance.

The teacher who was seeing off the children from outside recognized the two and went into the classroom to get the children.

After waiting a little like that.

“Oh my.”

Aeyeon was holding Heeseong’s hand and following along.

Aeyeon was smiling slightly, seeming to be in a good mood.

At the childlike appearance, both women couldn’t help but smile warmly.

“Alright, kids! Everyone’s here. You held hands well on the way, right?”

“Yes. Young Teacher.”

“We held hands well.”

It wasn’t the Moran Class teacher but the piano teacher, Jeong Mi-rae, who brought the children out.

While they were tilting their heads in puzzlement, Jeong Mi-rae spoke to the two women.

“Do you two have a moment? The principal says she has something to tell you.”

“That’s fine. Ji-eun, are you…”

“Ah, I’m fine too.”

“Thank you. Then, could you follow me for a moment? Kids, will you hold your mom’s hand and follow the teacher?”

“I want to hold Heeseong’s hand.”

At Aeyeon’s attitude, both women burst into laughter without realizing it.

Jeong Mi-rae led the way, and the four of them followed behind.

After walking a little like that, they soon reached the principal’s office.

“The principal is waiting, let’s go in together.”

The principal welcomed the four people.

As if she had already prepared, there were snacks that children liked on the table.

Tea for the adults was naturally prepared as well.

“Did our children do something wrong by any chance?”

“Hahaha! Heeseong’s mother, it’s not that kind of matter, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“Then, what’s the reason…”

“First, this.”

The principal handed some kind of notice to the two women.

Special Class Establishment.

Both women’s eyes widened at the phrase written at the top of the notice.

“A special class?”

“That’s right, this is a matter proposed by Teacher Jeong Mi-rae here.”

“Mi-rae… ah, no, the teacher did?”

With the two women surprised behind her, Jeong Mi-rae explained why she wanted to create this special class.

As the explanation continued, the expressions of the two surprised mothers gradually became calmer.

“Both children have talent. More than any children I’ve seen so far.”

“But to create this class to that extent…”

“No, Aeyeon’s mother. That’s enough. Aeyeon has better learning ability than other children. She has good instincts too.”

Jeong Mi-rae turned her head to look at Shin Ji-eun.

“Heeseong is excellent in every aspect. Unbelievably so for a five-year-old. I’m staking my career on this, but there will never be another child like Heeseong.”

Jeong Mi-rae spoke passionately.

She could confidently say that there was no child with this level of talent, staking all her knowledge, experience, and skills.

While Jeong Mi-rae’s explanation continued, the two women only read the notice.

‘Practice for competition awards.’

Lee Ye-eun was bothered by this phrase.

Aeyeon had recently quit all piano academies except for one.

Knowing that her choice had made the child suffer, she couldn’t make a hasty decision.

“Of course, you don’t have to tell me right now. You can talk it over well with the children and let me know later.”

“Ah, yes. Then, I’ll contact you later.”

“Me too. I’ll talk it over with the child’s father.”

At the mention of father, a subtle change occurred in Lee Ye-eun’s expression, but it was only momentary.

The brief meeting in the principal’s office ended like this.

Throughout walking down the hallway after leaving the principal’s office, Lee Ye-eun’s mind was complicated.

At the meeting to hear parents’ opinions about establishing a special class, Lee Ye-eun had many bad thoughts.

‘What if Aeyeon gets sick from doing this?’

The worry that combining preschool and piano practice might be too much strain on his body.

Concerns that hadn’t surfaced when sending him to academy began to emerge.

“Aeyeon’s mother.”

“Yes, yes? Ji-eun, what is it?”

Lee Ye-eun, momentarily pulled from her thoughts, spoke with confusion at Shin Ji-eun’s call.

Shin Ji-eun, smiling brightly, spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Would you like to go to a cafe and have some coffee? I know a place that makes great pancakes.”

“Pancakes?”

“Yes! I think we need to talk, Ye-eun.”

“I…”

Lee Ye-eun turned her head to look at Aeyeon walking with Hee-seong.

The child’s eyes were sparkling brightly.

Seeing that, a smile instantly formed on her lips.

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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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