A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 40

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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 40. Stay With Me (1)

 

The Sunday morning sunlight felt particularly hateful today.

 

No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t come up with any good musical ideas.

 

It had only been one day since I went to the exhibition hall with my aunt.

 

You could say it was just one day, but in that short time, thousands of sparks had ignited in my head.

 

And then they disappeared thousands of times over again.

 

Before I knew it, the sunlight was fading into evening.

 

‘This is hard… My head hurts…’

 

Creation is suffering.

 

In other words, it was no different from saying that if you inflict pain on your body, you can create.

 

I was doing a headstand while pondering over and over, but nothing would come together.

 

While I was struggling with my head on the pillow, the room door opened.

 

“Son, what are you doing…?”

 

“Ugh, I’m, thinking, gah! About, something!”

 

“…Stop that and come eat.”

 

“Yes…!”

 

My behavior must have looked eccentric to Father’s eyes.

 

I could clearly see many thoughts crossing his expression for a moment.

 

I thought I might have gone a bit overboard too.

 

‘But what can I do when my thoughts won’t come together?’

 

Separate from my love for music, it was a difficult day for composing.

 

It was one of those days when all my energy drained away before I could even start.

 

At times like this, it would have been better for my mental health to just rest properly.

 

But I didn’t want to do that.

 

It felt like if I just tried a little harder, really well, a musical idea would come to me.

 

Father placed a bowl of rice in front of me and said,

 

“Here, Dad made dinner today. The kimchi stew should be delicious, right? Oh, and Mom will be a little late today.”

 

“Is she teaching someone again?”

 

“No, that’s not it. It’s probably because of a performance.”

 

“A performance?”

 

Mother’s job was being a singer.

 

But she was a singer who hadn’t made her face known on TV or the internet.

 

To put it bluntly, it meant she wasn’t particularly famous.

 

So she had a second job, working as an instructor at a vocal academy.

 

That was as much as I had figured out on my own.

 

‘I didn’t know she even did performances…’

 

Of course, since she was a singer, performing was perhaps natural.

 

But in all my life so far, I had no memory of hearing that Mother was performing.

 

Curious, I asked Father,

 

“But has Mom performed before?”

 

“Mm. To be precise, she took a break. Things were hectic for a while after Hee-seong was born.”

 

“I see.”

 

“But she must have wanted to sing. When Mom’s colleague suggested performing, she immediately said she’d do it.”

 

Ah, I think I understood the feeling.

 

When you’re forced to stop doing something you love and then get the chance to do it again, anyone would say yes.

 

I planned to support whatever Mother wanted to do.

 

‘Mother singing songs. I’m a bit curious.’

 

Mother’s voice was usually gentle.

 

But when someone sings, their voice is bound to change.

 

Would it be a voice warm like sunlight, or a cold voice like dawn?

 

Imagining that made me happy.

 

“Hehe…”

 

“Did you think of something fun?”

 

“I was thinking about Mom singing.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Ah! Dad, have you heard Mom sing before?”

 

“Of course. I’ve heard her tons of times.”

 

“Really? How was it?”

 

“Mm…”

 

Father fell into thought with his chin resting on his hand.

 

He looked serious.

 

If I took a photo of him in that exact pose and brought it to a sculptor, it would be the kind of atmosphere that would make them answer ‘Eureka!’

 

I was a bit worried that my innocent question had put tremendous pressure on Father instead.

 

“Well, it’s hard to put into words.”

 

“That much?”

 

“Mm… Sometimes it’s warm, sometimes it’s cold. Sometimes it’s lukewarm.”

 

“What does that mean…”

 

“Strange, right? But Dad has heard it so much, you know? If Hee-seong listens as much as Dad has, you’ll understand too.”

 

Father grinned, showing his teeth.

 

The hand patting my head and the way he smiled like that felt refreshingly nice somehow.

 

Whether it was the influence of the kimchi stew, it felt like a slightly salty breeze was touching my face.

 

It felt exactly like the ocean.

 

“…Like the ocean.”

 

“Huh? …Ah, ahaha! Right, right! Just like Hee-seong said, Mom is like the ocean.”

 

Father, who heard my mumbling, was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

 

I didn’t know what was so funny, but hearing that laughter somehow put me at ease.

 

It was a voice that seemed to blow away worries.

 

‘That doesn’t mean musical ideas are coming to me though. I should enjoy the present moment.’

 

So it was time to start eating.

 

I stared intently at the kimchi stew in the center of the table.

 

Kimchi stew was always right.

 

Because it was the ultimate food that couldn’t fail.

 

“Father, I want to eat kimchi stew!”

 

“Oh, right. I forgot Hee-seong’s bowl. Dad will serve you some, just wait.”

 

Father hurriedly brought a new bowl and served me kimchi stew.

 

When I first ate kimchi stew, I was incredibly amazed that such food existed.

 

Father gave it to me as a joke, but as soon as I ate it, I was busy grabbing a spoon like someone possessed and putting it in my mouth.

 

Thinking of that time made me feel good as memories seemed to bubble up.

 

‘Now, shall I try some of Father’s kimchi stew?’

 

Slurp.

 

“…”

 

“Son, what’s wrong? Doesn’t it taste good?”

 

“…It’s.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“It’s really salty, Father…”

 

Today’s Father-brand kimchi stew had too much salt, so I had to fill my stomach with rolled omelet instead.

 

For reference, the rolled omelet was salty too.

 

***

 

“I feel like my mouth is full of salt somehow…”

 

Monday morning.

 

The sweet two-day break had come to an end.

 

Even after going to the exhibition hall on Saturday and continuing to think about it, I couldn’t find a solution.

 

“Hee-seong, you’ve been spacing out since earlier.”

 

“Right. He’s being weird again!”

 

“Hello….”

 

As usual, the little ones’ voices snapped me back to reality.

 

The children naturally sat down next to me and talked about what happened over the weekend.

 

Even though we hadn’t seen each other for just two days, they seemed to have plenty to talk about, chattering away cheerfully.

 

Garam was especially talkative.

 

“There was a huuuge lion!”

 

It seemed like he went to the zoo now that the weather was getting warmer.

 

The way he said the lion was scary but cool was so childlike and adorable.

 

The other children also talked about what they did over the weekend.

 

“I ate with Mom. The pork cutlet was delicious.”

 

“I’m hungry.”

 

“Me too….”

 

Looking at her now, I wonder if Aeyeon just likes eating in general, not just sweet things?

 

I keep having that thought.

 

“I… watched a movie with my big brother.”

 

“Ajin has a big brother too.”

 

“Yeah! My big brother is cool…!”

 

I didn’t know Ajin had an older brother.

 

Come to think of it, I didn’t know much about the children.

 

It’s not like I had to know all the personal details of my friends.

 

But somehow, I felt like I was being too indifferent.

 

‘Though I do know them well when it comes to piano.’

 

It couldn’t be helped since I was a musician.

 

While I liked the children’s pure side, I liked children who loved music even more.

 

Imagining the children presenting the music they had practiced hard brought a pleased smile to my lips.

 

I’d never been a parent, but I thought this might be how parents feel.

 

‘I wonder what we’ll do in Special Class today.’

 

While I was lost in these thoughts alone, all the children were staring at me intently.

 

“Hee-seong is making a weird face again.”

 

“Right! His expression is so funny!”

 

“Hehe, funny….”

 

These little rascals. Here I am having serious thoughts.

 

Seeing the children laugh made me want to tease them.

 

But I’m not a child, so I quickly folded away that thought.

 

“What did Hee-seong do over the weekend? Did you play piano in your sleep?”

 

“What kind of question is that, Aeyeon?”

 

“I tried it too. It didn’t work well.”

 

“Why are you clenching your fists while saying that….”

 

I don’t know what my image looks like in Aeyeon’s head, but I should quickly correct it.

 

“I went to the exhibition hall with my aunt! And I kept playing piano continuously.”

 

“That’s so like Hee-seong.”

 

“Yeah. I knew it.”

 

“You really like piano….”

 

I was slightly flustered by their reactions, as if they already knew.

 

Then why did they ask?

 

“…What kind of exhibition hall was it?”

 

“It was a music exhibition hall. There I composed….”

 

Huh?

 

I think a good idea just flashed through my mind.

 

I was having a conversation with the children right now.

 

An ordinary conversation where we asked each other questions and answered them.

 

It was a sudden thought, but this ordinary conversation with the children actually gave me the answer.

 

‘Right. If there’s something I don’t know, I can just ask other people what they think!’

 

There was such a simple method, but I had forgotten about it.

 

Indeed, humans are ignorant creatures who can’t even see what’s right in front of them.

 

“Kids! I have something to ask you!”

 

The children each made different expressions at my words.

 

Ajin looked flustered, and Garam looked surprised.

 

‘Why does Aeyeon look happy?’

 

I shook my head and hurriedly asked my question.

 

***

 

The result didn’t work out well.

 

I tried asking the children questions, but most of them gave similar answers.

 

Even after coming home and eating dinner, I was still wrapped up in the same worries.

 

“Sparkling, warm, pretty….”

 

The children’s answers were pure.

 

The adults were the same way.

 

I asked the two teachers from Moran Class, but their answers were the same as the children’s.

 

Still, Jeong Mi-rae gave a slightly different answer.

 

“It hurts your eyes. That was an unexpected answer. I’ll put it on the candidate list for now.”

 

I also asked Father, another adult I knew.

 

In a way, his very characteristic answer made me chuckle.

 

‘To say “Mother.” He really is a devoted husband.’

 

Whenever I saw their relationship, I always felt good and happy.

 

But aside from that, the answer remained unsolved.

 

I hadn’t heard an answer that would give me a big shock for composing.

 

All the stories so far were too fragmentary.

 

‘If only I had my friend at times like this….’

 

At times like this, I thought of my friend.

 

If I had asked him such a question, I couldn’t really imagine what he would have answered.

 

How could I even imagine someone who got married, had a daughter, and was already living a happier life than me?

 

That’s why I missed him even more.

 

Thinking he might give me a better answer than I could come up with.

 

“Let’s not do this. I need to think about it a little more.”

 

I slapped my soft cheeks to wake myself up.

 

Being tied down to the past wasn’t good.

 

Even if past memories held me back, I was a person of the present.

 

So I should think about the present.

 

Beep beep beep-

 

However, just as I was about to concentrate, I heard the sound of someone entering the passcode at the entrance.

 

Mother had come home.

 

I hurriedly left my room and ran to the entrance.

 

“Mom!”

 

At the entrance stood Mother, whom I had been waiting for.

 

She looked slightly tired, but as soon as she saw me, she gave me a sparkling smile.

 

Today, her smile felt especially welcoming.

 

‘Let me ask now. She’ll probably fall asleep right away.’

 

My tendency to sleep a lot was all inherited from Mother.

 

Whenever she showed even the slightest sign of fatigue like now, Mother would fall asleep immediately.

 

So I had to ask now.

 

“What do you think light is, Mom?”

 

My sudden question seemed to catch Mother off guard.

 

The brief silence was as quiet as a church at dawn.

 

“Hmm….”

 

Mother’s contemplation was as gentle as grass in a meadow.

 

It was calm like the sound of rustling in the wind, yet refreshing at the same time.

 

“Mom thinks….”

 

Finally, she answered.

 

That answer was so surprising that cold sweat began trickling down on its own.

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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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