A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 37

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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 37. Feel Good (1)

 

“Heeseong!”

 

Someone called out to me as I was about to head home.

 

When I turned around, I saw Jeong Mi-rae panting heavily, having apparently rushed over.

 

“Haa… You haven’t gone home yet.”

 

“Father is running a bit late. But what’s the matter, Young Teacher?”

 

“I came to give you this.”

 

She handed me something.

 

There was something inside a white paper envelope.

 

Was it an information pamphlet?

 

Curious, I asked her.

 

“What is this?”

 

“Music exhibition tickets. Young Teacher got too busy to go.”

 

“Oh, I’m fine without it…”

 

“Praise stickers alone aren’t enough. That’s why I want to give you this too.”

 

Jeong Mi-rae said this while bending down.

 

Then she pressed the envelope into my hand.

 

“Young Teacher thought praise stickers weren’t enough. Good songs deserve good gifts.”

 

“No! I like praise stickers too!”

 

“Really? But Young Teacher thinks it’s not enough.”

 

“I’m really fine with it…”

 

“There will be instruments and various music equipment there, you know?”

 

“Really…?”

 

At first I had no intention of accepting it, but instruments and equipment were a different story.

 

Modern instruments made my mouth water just looking at them.

 

Without realizing it, I felt an overwhelming desire to try playing them.

 

And I thought about how fun it would be to compose with those instruments.

 

When I unconsciously opened my mouth with a “heh” and smiled, Jeong Mi-rae chuckled and said.

 

“Heeseong likes music, doesn’t he? How about it, do you really want to go now?”

 

“Ugh…”

 

“This is a bribe for you to keep making good songs. Go and see lots of things. Come on, promise me.”

 

“Ah… Yes, I promise…!”

 

“Let me hear another wonderful song. Heeseong is a wonderful composer.”

 

Jeong Mi-rae’s last words stayed in my heart.

 

Her voice calling me a composer somehow lingered in my mind.

 

Yes, this was why I made music.

 

Even though I received praise, I kept making songs in response to that voice that wanted to hear more.

 

‘It’s good to have many reasons for making music. That way I won’t get tired of it.’

 

Setting that aside, I was so grateful for her words about listening well to my songs.

 

That’s why laughter naturally flowed out of me.

 

“Hahaha! Thank you!”

 

“There are 2 exhibition tickets. Go see it with your family over the weekend. Young Teacher will go now. See you next week.”

 

“Yes! Have a safe trip!”

 

She patted my head several times and then left.

 

I looked at the exhibition tickets Jeong Mi-rae had left behind and put them in my bag.

 

I did this because the gift I received for my song impression was so precious that I was afraid of losing it.

 

During the time I waited for Father, the smile never left my face.

 

***

 

When the weekend came, I showed the exhibition tickets to my parents and Aunt Sujin, who had come to visit with some free time.

 

The three of them showed amazing reactions to the suddenly appearing tickets.

 

“Who… gave you this?”

 

“Young Teacher did.”

 

“This precious thing? This is a really famous exhibition!”

 

“That’s what I’m saying. We should repay Young Teacher.”

 

The adults were having a heated argument about how to repay Jeong Mi-rae.

 

“It’s tomorrow. Huh? But there are two tickets?”

 

Mother’s voice snapped the adults’ attention back.

 

“You two decide. I don’t think I can go.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Father and Aunt’s eyes rolled around busily.

 

A battle of wits began.

 

As the atmosphere of searching for the enemy’s weakness continued, Aunt spoke first.

 

“I want to go.”

 

“Come on, sis. You’re busy.”

 

Aunt declared that she would go to the Exhibition Hall with me.

 

Since I didn’t really care who I went with, I watched the adults talk while munching on popcorn.

 

I always think this, but onion-flavored popcorn seemed to be the best.

 

“You said you’re busy these days. I’ll go with Heeseong.”

 

“I can finish that work within this week, you know?”

 

“You said that last time and couldn’t finish the work for two months.”

 

“Ugh. You ran away that time! After saying you’d help me!”

 

“I couldn’t do it because I was helping Jieun then! You understood that too!”

 

“Ah, I don’t know! I’m going with Heeseong! I’m going!”

 

I watched the two people’s argument while eating popcorn.

 

Seeing Aunt childishly insisting she would go made me chuckle.

 

Usually she’s cool and charismatic, but she only loosens up like this at our Home.

 

But at this rate, the two might end up grabbing each other’s hair and fighting, so I quickly said.

 

“Just play rock-paper-scissors, you two.”

 

“Huh? Should we?”

 

“Good. Let’s do as Heeseong suggests.”

 

The two took deep breaths and clenched their fists tightly.

 

Father interlocked his fingers and swung his arms around.

 

He seemed to be looking at something between his palms.

 

‘Is this really something worth doing all that for?’

 

However, contrary to my thoughts, the two were infinitely serious.

 

Like cowboys pointing guns at each other in the Old West.

 

If sand-laden wind blew and tumbleweeds rolled between them, it would look like a scene from an 80s American movie.

 

“If you don’t throw, you lose!”

 

“Rock-paper-scissors!”

 

The two people’s voices echoed through the Living Room.

 

Only the winner could shout in victory from this serious fight.

 

“Woohoo!! Heeseong, let’s go with Father!”

 

The winner was Father.

 

I tried to put the popcorn I was holding into Father’s mouth as congratulations.

 

At that moment.

 

“Wait.”

 

Aunt’s ominous voice was heard.

 

Cold sweat trickled down Father’s cheek as he trembled in fear.

 

Over Father’s shoulder as he slowly turned his head, I could see Aunt smiling sinisterly.

 

“Koreans… go best two out of three.”

 

“Th-that’s not how it works! The loser should quietly accept the results!”

 

“Your opinion doesn’t matter. Heeseong will decide.”

 

Aunt said, pointing at me.

 

In the end, it meant that the joy and sorrow of the two adults could change depending on my opinion.

 

In that case.

 

“Let’s do best two out of three!”

 

Whoever wins is the boss anyway.

 

Along with Father’s despairing expression, a smile bloomed on Aunt’s face.

 

Even if you win, this world is one where results change according to power.

 

Go ahead, fight each other.

 

I’ll go get some fresh popcorn.

 

“Rock-paper-scissors, whoever doesn’t throw loses!”

 

The weekend evening continued until the two adults’ rock-paper-scissors match ended.

 

***

 

“Wow!!”

 

I wondered if I was in heaven right now.

 

If there was a place called paradise, I was certain this had to be it.

 

There were even more instruments than in Aunt’s studio.

 

More than 10 grand pianos were on display, and each booth was organized by instrument type.

 

I couldn’t help but stare in awe at the scene that made me gulp with excitement.

 

“Heeseong, let’s not block other people’s way.”

 

“Oh, sorry, Aunt.”

 

“Nothing to be sorry about. Where should we start?”

 

Aunt was the one who won at rock-paper-scissors.

 

The fierce battle between the two that lasted late into the night ended with Aunt’s tearful victory by a single point.

 

Perhaps because she had such a hard time getting to the exhibition, Aunt seemed excited.

 

‘But couldn’t Father have come too if we just bought admission tickets?’

 

Well, he seemed busy, so he probably wouldn’t have had time to come anyway.

 

Aunt opened the booklet she brought, which also had a map of the exhibition hall.

 

“They’re numbered. Should we start from number 1?”

 

“Sounds good!”

 

“Alright, let’s go!”

 

I wandered around every corner of the exhibition with Aunt.

 

There were many fascinating instruments here and there.

 

Some combined guitars and basses, while others were instruments I’d never seen before in my life.

 

There were also several instruments that famous musicians had actually played.

 

“No way, they have this album?”

 

They even had discontinued albums.

 

She seemed to be a huge fan of this particular singer, as she kept smacking her lips in appreciation.

 

I could see her eyes sparkling with desire for the CD.

 

Unable to resist, Aunt’s wallet finally opened, and she got the CD she wanted.

 

Besides that, there were countless other things that caught Aunt’s eye.

 

Many things caught my eye too.

 

Sometimes I could hear music playing nearby.

 

There were staff members actually performing at booths, and regular visitors trying out demonstrations.

 

Since it was a music exhibition, there were many people who knew how to play instruments.

 

As a result, all the music I heard was familiar.

 

As we wandered around the exhibition hall like this, it was soon lunchtime.

 

“There are quite a lot of people. Oh, this hamburger is delicious.”

 

Aunt and I filled our stomachs at a hamburger restaurant in the exhibition hall.

 

“How was it, Heeseong?”

 

“It was amazing! There were so many interesting instruments, and it seems like there’s a lot of good music too!”

 

“Right? But there’s still much more to see.”

 

Just as we were starting to decide where to go next.

 

– Beep-♪

 

I heard some kind of interesting sound.

 

Curious, I asked Aunt.

 

“Aunt, do you hear this sound?”

 

“Hm? What sound?”

 

“A beep! Beep-beep sound. It sounds like a trumpet but doesn’t seem to be a trumpet.”

 

“Hmm… Ah, a synth?”

 

“Synth?”

 

“More precisely, it’s an instrument called a synthesizer.”

 

Synthesizer?

 

It was an instrument I’d heard of before, but I’d never actually seen one.

 

“Want to see it?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Then let’s finish eating quickly and go.”

 

We hurriedly finished our hamburgers and headed toward where the synthesizer sound was coming from.

 

When we got there, there was some kind of electronic piano.

 

“Huh? Isn’t this just a piano? It looks similar to Father’s.”

 

“They look similar, but they’re completely different instruments. Do you know how a piano makes sound?”

 

“Yes! Hammers strike the strings to make sound.”

 

“You learned well at kindergarten. That’s right, but this one’s different.”

 

“It’s different?”

 

“That’s right!”

 

Aunt continued her explanation.

 

Synthesizer.

 

Also known as synth, it was a tool that allowed you to play recorded sounds.

 

A fascinating instrument focused on creating sounds electrically or digitally.

 

It could synthesize sounds of various frequencies and waveforms to create new sounds, or apply electronic modulation to stored tones according to the user’s ability.

 

In other words, it was a fascinating instrument that could create everything from existing sounds to sounds that had never existed in this world.

 

“Young-hoon’s piano could also be considered a synthesizer in a way.”

 

“It’s such an amazing instrument…”

 

I was captivated by the synthesizer placed in front of me.

 

Its bright red appearance with colorful buttons was mesmerizing.

 

My fingers were itching to press the keys.

 

“You want it, don’t you?”

 

“Yes…”

 

I answered without realizing it.

 

When I looked up at Aunt, she was already calling over a staff member.

 

“Excuse me, what is this product?”

 

“Oh, do you like this product? We just released it recently.”

 

“No wonder it looks so cool. How much does it cost?”

 

“The price is 3 million won.”

 

“What?”

 

“It’s 3 million won.”

 

“…”

 

I realized that Aunt’s hand holding mine was getting increasingly sweaty.

 

That amount of money would certainly be a burden for anyone.

 

Grand pianos cost tens of millions of won too, so of course that’s understandable.

 

“Um, excuse me…”

 

“Hmm? What is it?”

 

“Could I try playing it?”

 

“Of course! You can play as much as you want! Just a moment, I’ll bring you a chair.”

 

At my question, the kind staff member brought over a chair.

 

On top of that, he even lowered the height of the synthesizer stand for me.

 

I felt slightly burdened by his excessive kindness, but I was just grateful that I could play.

 

“Heh… Well then, let’s see…!”

 

I took a deep breath and put strength into my fingers.

 

***

 

A man in a suit was shouting into his phone.

 

“I don’t know! Does it make sense to tell me to find talent here?”

 

-Still, there’s no choice. We need stars to continue the business.

 

“There are plenty of other kids. Why does it have to be!”

 

-Anyway, just look around. The deadline is long, so take your time searching. I’m hanging up.

 

“Hello, hello! Ugh, that pig bastard really…”

 

Kim Eon-seung from the entertainment agency felt like his hair would fall out from stress today too.

 

The reason was none other than finding talent.

 

The company was full of ideas about creating and promoting stars.

 

However, the method was the problem.

 

Finding talent in this vast ocean.

 

“I’m going to quit and start my own agency instead, seriously.”

 

For him, who had no real intention of doing it properly anyway, the exhibition was a perfect place.

 

Just as he was about to wander around the exhibition hall to kill time.

 

“Should I look around for now? Hmm?”

 

He heard some kind of sound.

 

He found himself drawn to a feast of sounds that were both magnificent and unique.

 

‘Why are there so many people?’

 

Many people had gathered, apparently also drawn by that sound.

 

When he looked over countless shoulders toward the source of the sound, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

—————
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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