A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 32

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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 32. If You Stay by My Side (1)

Late Friday afternoon after classes ended.

In the music room, about 9 children including myself from the special class had gathered.

Most were kids I knew, but there were also several I was seeing for the first time.

It seems there are more talented children than I thought.

‘More importantly, when will we play piano?’

Just thinking about what piece I would perform first made the corners of my mouth slowly rise.

“Heeseong, you’re being really weird!”

“Right… You’ve been strange since last week.”

“Right.”

“…What did I even do.”

Garam, Ajin, and Aeyeon spoke to me in order.

They all told me that I was smirking and smiling sinisterly.

Imagining how I looked, I probably did seem quite strange.

But don’t you naturally smile when thinking about things you like?

Or not.

“Is everyone here?”

While the children were chattering away, the front door of the classroom opened and Jeong Mi-rae entered.

She was wearing her usual semi-formal outfit with slacks.

How did I know this? Because I had to decide Mother’s outfit every morning.

“Now, since it’s the first day, I won’t make this too long.”

Jeong Mi-rae wrote something on the blackboard at the front of the classroom.

Competition.

After writing those three characters very large, she immediately drew an ‘X’ over the letters.

Does this mean we won’t participate in competitions?

The children seemed not to understand her action and began murmuring slightly.

“Our class is a special class. It’s for participating in competitions.”

“But why did you put an ‘X’?”

“Good question, Garam. Right now we’re not participating in competitions, but rather smaller contests.”

To summarize Jeong Mi-rae’s words, it was like this:

“You’re all still young. But at competitions, there are children who are 6 or 7 years old. A one-year difference is enormous.”

In other words, it might be difficult for us.

If talent was equal, that one year of time determined victory or defeat.

Therefore, Jeong Mi-rae set her goal to give the children experience with contests during this one year.

‘Contests… To think I’d end up participating in contests.’

Contests were places where others showed the efforts they had made so far.

That’s why I thought I could proudly show my own efforts.

It was directly connected to my goal.

‘Music that no one can take away from me.’

I knew well that it was an incredibly difficult thing.

In the past, I had no power.

Because I was weak, my music was taken away.

But not now.

Now, no one would be able to take my music away.

At least for now.

‘So before then, I need to compose an incredible amount of music.’

Of course, even if I don’t participate in competitions, I always plan to practice.

Practicing on a grand piano.

It was a sentence that made me feel incredibly good.

“You’ll still need to practice a lot.”

“Then what do we do in the meantime?”

“So until the small contest, you’ll find instruments you like and practice them.”

That was the conclusion.

Practice.

But practice is inherently boring work.

“I’ll pair you up in groups of two. It wouldn’t be fun doing it alone, right?”

“Good!”

“Even if you’re paired with a friend you’re not close to, you need to get along well. You’re all friends making music together. Understood?”

Jeong Mi-rae called out names one by one to pair them up.

It would be better to do it with other children rather than alone.

The children who became pairs either rejoiced or felt awkward as they moved to their seats.

Beside me were Moran Class children who hadn’t been paired yet.

Garam was grinning broadly, but Aeyeon somehow had a tense expression.

“Garam, I think you’d do well with Aeyeon. Is that okay?”

“Yes! Aeyeon, let’s do it together!”

“Ah… Yeah, okay…”

Aeyeon seemed slightly disappointed.

Still, since both of them like Chuchoo, they’ll become close quickly.

A combination of a prickly child and an energetic child.

Thinking about the two of them practicing made me laugh.

“Heeseong will be with Ajin.”

“Ah, yes…!”

“Sounds good.”

I naturally ended up with Ajin.

The child smiled happily.

“Today we’ll practice very lightly. But next time, you’ll choose the pieces you want to practice yourselves.”

“Teacher! Can we do whatever we want?”

“Of course. Any piece is fine. Practice should be with pieces you like.”

After Jeong Mi-rae finished speaking, the paired children each headed to their pianos.

Aeyeon and Garam settled at the piano next to us.

Let’s sit down first and then think about what piece to choose.

As soon as Ajin sat on the piano chair, she asked carefully.

“Heeseong, you’re going to do piano, right…?”

“Yeah. Ajin, do you have a favorite instrument?”

“I like piano too… and I like violin too… But I’m not good at either, hehe.”

“Ajin, you learn everything quickly, so it’s fine. Learning both at the same time isn’t easy.”

At five years old, it was natural that even learning one would be difficult.

However, perhaps because we spent a lot of time together, Ajin’s skills improved rapidly.

‘Wait, do you have to do competitions with just one instrument?’

I briefly thought about participating in competitions with both piano and violin.

But I soon folded that thought away.

Piano was one thing, but violin was an unfamiliar field.

I could play piano at home, but not violin.

Of course, even if I had a violin, I couldn’t practice the same way.

How could I practice something I don’t know?

And decisively, the entry fee would be doubled.

“When are you going to practice?”

Just then, Park Bom suddenly asked.

A little while ago, most of the children had formed pairs, but only Park Bom uniquely had no friend to practice with.

“Aren’t you being too natural about this? Where’s your partner?”

“She’s sick and couldn’t come. So today we’re supposed to pair up with whoever we want. Is it okay if we work together?”

“I don’t mind.”

“I’m okay with it too….”

“Please take care of me!”

There were probably more kids besides the ones here now.

Since I didn’t mind working together, I moved aside so Park Bom could sit next to us.

“Heeseong, what piece are you going to practice…?”

“Well. I’m still thinking about it.”

“Let’s do something difficult! Huh? I have something I want to do!”

“No. Ajin has to do it together too.”

“Huh? This kid can’t play piano?”

Ajin flinched at Park Bom’s question.

Like a pill bug curling into a ball, she hung her head low.

Park Bom’s question was probably innocent with no ill intent, but it struck Ajin like a massive hammer.

I defended Ajin in her place.

“She hasn’t been learning piano for very long. It hasn’t even been a month yet, right?”

“Then why is she in the special class?”

“She still plays piano well. Ask Young Teacher about it.”

“Hmm…?”

Actually, I thought I knew why Jeong Mi-rae put Ajin in the special class.

Hansul Preschool had children with musical talent, but there were more children without it.

Realistically, the preschool needed to make money too, so they would have recruited ordinary students as well.

Ajin was probably one of those cases.

However, Ajin had talent.

She had reached the level where she could play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in just one week.

It was a very simple piece, but Ajin was five years old.

Considering that.

‘She has talent. I’ll need to watch a bit longer to see if she’s exceptional.’

Park Bom seemed to have doubts about my words, but said nothing more.

Jeong Mi-rae’s name was so impressive that children would just think ‘I see’ and move on upon hearing it.

She really is an amazing person though.

“Heeseong, what piece are we going to practice…?”

“I haven’t thought of anything. Ajin, is there something you want to do?”

“I can’t play well, so I’ll do whatever Heeseong tells me to, hehe….”

Ajin smiled slightly, lifting the corners of her mouth.

It was a cute expression befitting a child, but somehow looked lonely.

It was an expression I’d seen somewhere before.

‘Ah, right. She resembles me.’

My past self.

It was the emotion I felt on the stage I went to for learning music for the first time.

A person who knew nothing, just doing as told.

My past self who would just smile and laugh no matter what was said.

‘Memories I don’t want to remember keep creeping out.’

My past wasn’t good memories but blazing flames.

The fire had disappeared, but the ashes that remained still tormented me.

The ashes of painful memories that entered through my nose made me gasp for breath.

“Ajin. Will you do what I suggest?”

“Yeah… I’m okay with it.”

“Alright. Wait a moment.”

“Why don’t you ask me?”

“Will you do what I suggest?”

“Yeah! I will.”

“Why did you ask me to ask you…. Anyway, wait here, I’ll go talk to the teacher.”

I turned my head.

For some reason, she was staring intently at me.

Our eyes met in the air, and I got up from my seat and headed toward her.

As it happened, I had something to say.

***

‘Aeyeon and Garam are doing well. Bom is with those kids as expected.’

Jeong Mi-rae thought as she observed the children.

The criterion for entering the special class was talent.

She had carefully observed the children for the past month, gathering them based on the children’s and parents’ opinions.

They might be lacking right now, but they were children who would soon bloom.

‘There are still parents who haven’t given their answer, so the number might increase later. We could divide them by instrument too.’

Jeong Mi-rae’s mind began working busily.

Right now it was only piano, but there were children with exceptional talent in other instruments.

Garam was a prime example.

Despite being five years old, she could play the violin, a difficult instrument, to some degree.

She was a child whose progress in a year would be exciting to see.

‘Ajin definitely has talent. A child who couldn’t play anything at first can now just play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Last time she tried to play a difficult piece, didn’t she?’

Jeong Mi-rae felt it too.

Ajin had musical talent.

She understood notes and knew how to play them.

‘The shy child changed like this all thanks to Heeseong.’

Jeong Mi-rae’s gaze shifted from Ajin to the child sitting next to her.

‘Still, it would be good if she became a bit more proactive…. Should I create a small stage?’

She didn’t think the child’s skills improved because of her teaching.

Of course, there would be some influence.

However, Jeong Mi-rae was certain that the biggest influence on Ajin’s skill improvement was Heeseong sitting next to her.

She still hadn’t forgotten Heeseong’s performance of ‘From an Unknown Country.’

After hearing the music that child played, she had been playing piano little by little since some time ago.

‘He’s an extraordinary child. Not only can he arrange music, but he seems to make music that can move people’s hearts.’

That’s why she wanted to observe him more.

She was so curious about what kind of music he would make.

Jeong Mi-rae found herself continuously watching Heeseong without realizing it.

Then their eyes met directly.

‘Hm? Does he have something to say? But his expression….’

By the time Jeong Mi-rae realized it, Heeseong was already walking over.

She sat down in place, flustered.

Heeseong and Jeong Mi-rae’s gazes overlapped in the air.

“Heeseong, do you have something to tell the teacher?”

“Yes. About the practice piece. It’s okay to do any song, right?”

“That’s right. Like I said earlier, Heeseong can do whatever you want to do.”

“Then….”

Heeseong continued speaking.

Jeong Mi-rae’s expression changed strangely upon hearing this.

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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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