A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 56

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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 56. Warmth (3)

 

“What’s this.”

 

On weekend morning, Choi Man-bok witnessed a scene he never expected.

 

Garam, who would normally sleep in, had woken up early in the morning.

 

His face was still damp, as if he had just finished washing up.

 

But his expression was different.

 

It was stiffly hardened, looking almost resolute.

 

‘The day before yesterday he ran away, but today he’s being brave.’

 

Thinking of Garam who had secretly watched him and then quickly ran away made him chuckle.

 

He too was an old man who had lived through many years.

 

That’s why he could properly read people’s eyes.

 

There were those with kind eyes and those with evil eyes.

 

‘Hee-seong was honest and pure. And that snake bastard was…’

 

Choi Man-bok shook his head.

 

He had ended up recalling a disgusting face he didn’t want to see first thing in the morning.

 

He scowled deeply.

 

“Hik!”

 

Garam was startled by his action.

 

Seeing the child looking around as if wondering what he had done wrong, Choi Man-bok hurriedly spoke to the child.

 

“What are you trying to do? Do you have something to say?”

 

At his words, the child shrank back slightly.

 

He had the eyes of a hunter who had encountered a giant bear.

 

Contrary to his intention to comfort the child, the child became even more frightened.

 

Feeling awkward about this, Choi Man-bok heard Garam speak.

 

“G-Grandfather!”

 

The child squeezed his eyes shut.

 

And spoke in a loud voice as if shouting.

 

“T-Today, please go out and play with me!”

 

At the completely unexpected words, Choi Man-bok froze.

 

It was the first time his granddaughter had suggested going out to play somewhere.

 

That’s why he felt like he could fly.

 

His attitude was certainly gruff and blunt, but even so, he loved his granddaughter.

 

That granddaughter had reached out to him first.

 

There probably wasn’t anyone in this world who wouldn’t be happy about this.

 

But there was just one very minor problem.

 

‘What, what should I play with her…?’

 

He was someone who didn’t know how to play with children.

 

***

 

‘I wonder if Garam is doing well?’

 

The favor I had asked Garam at kindergarten was weighing on my mind.

 

I also thought it might be too big a mission for a child to handle.

 

But it was unavoidable for the sake of composing.

 

I could ask directly myself, but I didn’t have much time to talk with Grandfather Manbok.

 

If there was any time, it would be just briefly when leaving kindergarten?

 

‘Well, it doesn’t matter since Garam seems happy about it?’

 

I chuckled thinking of Garam laughing by himself.

 

I believe Garam will do well.

 

He was such a bright child after all.

 

“Father!”

 

I need to do my own work.

 

I ran to Father who was washing dishes in the kitchen and said.

 

“Son, what is it?”

 

He was still wearing an apron covered with frilly decorations.

 

His caring tone made me feel good for no reason.

 

“I want to watch a movie!”

 

“A movie? What movie?”

 

“The one I saw at kindergarten!”

 

“Ah, the one from the notice? It must have been interesting?”

 

“Yes, it was interesting.”

 

I said calmly.

 

It was interesting.

 

However, I was concerned about the 5 minutes of content at the beginning and Garam’s expression, so I didn’t really remember the content that came after.

 

That’s why I wanted to watch it again.

 

‘I can’t compose based only on what happened in reality.’

 

I recalled when I was inspired by a painting in the past.

 

It was just a painting of a child in an ordinary home.

 

Honestly, it was a painting that was lacking to call well-drawn.

 

If even I, who was ignorant about art, thought so, how much more so would those in that industry.

 

But that poorly drawn painting was a shock to me.

 

How should I put it, it was quite a fresh experience.

 

‘Familiar yet unfamiliar?’

 

It was ambiguous whether the main character of the painting was a girl or boy.

 

The expression was frowning as if jealous about something, and the hair was short.

 

On the other hand, they wore a skirt while holding a giant bat in their hands.

 

On the floor was a painting of a cute doll lying limp.

 

The first thought I had when I saw the painting was wondering what gender that child was.

 

But after standing and looking at the painting for a long time, I wasn’t really curious about the child’s gender.

 

Instead, I looked at what was around the child.

 

‘The elements were important.’

 

The child was at the center of the painting.

 

But what was around them was a chaotic room.

 

There was a bookshelf, but all the books had fallen over.

 

On the floor, fallen clothes and dolls were tangled together, and even a water bottle was spilled.

 

But just one thing.

 

‘The bacon and eggs on the desk were clean.’

 

They even had steam rising as if just made.

 

From that, I could tell just one thing.

 

The child’s gender wasn’t important.

 

Whether they were jealous or had a bad personality wasn’t important at all.

 

What was important was that the child was loved.

 

Even if the child messed up the room, there was someone who loved the child.

 

That’s why I thought the painting’s title being ‘Warmth’ was probably because of that.

 

“Come on, let’s go watch.”

 

“Great!”

 

Father wiped his wet hands on his clothes, grabbed the remote, and sat down on the sofa.

 

And he skillfully found the movie and soon played it.

 

-Let’s go, to the world of adventure!

 

The beginning of the movie was always the same.

 

Those 5 minutes dealing with the meeting of the girl and boy were approaching.

 

Father was concentrating on the movie.

 

I glanced at him briefly before focusing on the movie scene.

 

‘A crying woman and a man with a gloomy expression…’

 

And soon the woman passed away, leaving only the man who had become an old man.

 

I hesitated for a moment.

 

I wanted to ask Father.

 

“Father.”

 

“What?”

 

“What do you think it would be like if Mother passed away first?”

 

“Father would follow her.”

 

“Really?”

 

“No, I wouldn’t. How could I leave when our son is here.”

 

“Right?”

 

Father’s answer was serious.

 

His words contained sincerity, so I could tell even without looking at his eyes.

 

At his clear answer without a hint of falsehood, I found myself nodding.

 

“…Wait a minute, son. You can ask questions like that?”

 

“Ah… hahaha.”

 

It had almost become a serious conversation.

 

At Father’s bewildered question, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

Father, who had been focused on the movie, seemed to have answered my question without realizing it.

 

‘Is that a question a 5-year-old would ask…? Looking at our kids, I don’t think they would.’

 

I barely managed to brush off Father’s question with laughter and focused on the movie again.

 

The movie had been going on for a while.

 

A scene came into view where an old man and a child were camping and talking.

 

I liked the slowly dying campfire and those gentle lines.

 

And at the same time.

 

‘Grandfather Manbok…?’

 

His image overlapped with the scene.

 

More precisely, that dying campfire looked like Grandfather Manbok.

 

A campfire that couldn’t burn brightly.

 

A musical idea was coming to mind.

 

I wanted to hurry to my room and compose, but right now I was watching a movie with Father.

 

‘Should I do it a little later?’

 

It seemed like a good idea.

 

So for now, let me focus on the movie a bit…

 

-Justice spy, Pashu-man appears!

 

Suddenly an animation commercial came on.

 

Whenever I saw that animation that children love, I always had one thought.

 

Why is the name like that?

 

It’s hard for children to pronounce, so I wondered why they chose such a name.

 

‘Justice spy… Pasu-i… Wait, could it be Pashu…man?’

 

They really came up with the name carelessly.

 

***

 

“Hiiing…”

 

Garam walked holding Choi Man-bok’s hand with a gloomy expression.

 

‘I couldn’t play with Grandfather!’

 

The child’s plan was like this.

 

Do fun things with Grandfather.

 

Play violin with Grandfather.

 

Sleep excitedly with Grandfather.

 

It was a very simple plan befitting a child, but she couldn’t execute that simple plan.

 

“Father, how are you feeling?”

 

“I’m fine. Are you all okay?”

 

It was because of Garam’s parents who came every weekend.

 

Garam was happy to see her father and mother after a long time.

 

But not today.

 

‘I couldn’t complete my mission like Pashu-man…’

 

Garam, who failed to complete her mission, trudged out for a walk.

 

Watching such Garam, Manbok had one thought.

 

‘Sorry I couldn’t play with you.’

 

He felt sorry that he couldn’t play with his granddaughter.

 

He couldn’t do anything about his son and daughter-in-law who came to visit after a week.

 

Unlike himself who stayed with her for 5 days out of the week, his son could only be with her for just two days.

 

So he had no choice but to refuse Garam’s request to play together.

 

‘At first she was disappointed but quickly cheered up. But now she looks like a wet mouse.’

 

Choi Man-bok looked at his granddaughter with pitying eyes.

 

At lunch, she tried to give him meat but dropped it in the stew.

 

Before going out, she tried to put socks on him but made a hole in them.

 

Garam’s attempts to help him were endearing, but he was also curious about the reason.

 

The reason why she was suddenly being so nice to him.

 

‘Hmm… It’s still far from evening, so it should be okay to give her something sweet, right?’

 

He tried to have a conversation with his granddaughter.

 

A conversation with his 5-year-old granddaughter wouldn’t be very easy, but feeding her something delicious should work.

 

“Garam. Want to eat something sweet?”

 

“Something sweet…?”

 

“Yes. Grandfather will buy it for you.”

 

“Really? I like it!”

 

At the mention of something sweet, Garam gradually perked up.

 

The child who didn’t eat much sweet food before going to kindergarten had somehow come to seek out sweet things.

 

‘The kindergarten doesn’t feed them much candy. Is there a kid who gives out sweets?’

 

He thought that friends might have shared sweets with Garam, awakening her to them.

 

And his thought was somewhat correct.

 

“Follow me! Aeyeon told me about a delicious place!”

 

Unfortunately, Choi Man-bok didn’t know who Aeyeon was.

 

Because opportunities to become close with other parents rarely came.

 

The closest he’d gotten was with Hee-seong’s father.

 

He seemed like someone he could communicate with, so he wanted to create an opportunity.

 

“Walk a little slower! Grandfather is dying!”

 

Garam walked almost dragging Choi Man-bok along.

 

Then she stopped in front of a 2-story cafe.

 

“Here?”

 

“I think so.”

 

“What do you mean you think so.”

 

“Aeyeon said it was near the kindergarten, and Hee-seong told me how to get there!”

 

“You remembered all that…?”

 

Huh.

 

Choi Man-bok let out a hollow laugh.

 

He didn’t know his granddaughter was this smart.

 

Feeling pleased, he took his granddaughter’s hand and entered the cafe.

 

“Welcome!”

 

“Ahem, I’d like to order something….”

 

“Yes! What would you like, sir?”

 

“I’m fine, but do you have anything good for a child? If you do, I’d appreciate it if you could let me know.”

 

“Of course! This is our most popular item.”

 

The staff member lowered the menu so Garam could see it too.

 

A slender finger pointed to one menu item, and Garam slowly read it out.

 

“Ba, na, na, pan, cake.”

 

“Just one of those please. Oh, and one strawberry juice too.”

 

A little later, Choi Man-bok went up to the second floor with the ordered items.

 

Since Garam had insisted on eating on the second floor, he endured his aching knees and climbed up.

 

“Agh, this is killing me.”

 

“Grandfather, are you going to die?”

 

“No. Hurry up and eat, it’ll get cold.”

 

“Hehe, it looks delicious.”

 

Garam clumsily held the fork and knife, trying to cut the pancake, but it wouldn’t cut well.

 

Choi Man-bok took the utensils the child was holding and cut the pancake for him instead.

 

Garam quietly watched this scene.

 

The reason was quite simple.

 

The child had only been living with his grandfather for a few months.

 

That’s why Garam found Choi Man-bok’s actions both unfamiliar and delightful.

 

“Grandfather, say ah!”

 

He suppressed his desire to immediately put the pancake in his mouth and spoke, thinking of his grandfather who had worked hard.

 

This time it was Choi Man-bok who was surprised.

 

It was a completely unexpected reaction.

 

It was the first time his granddaughter had offered him food.

 

“Ugh, it’s sweet. Your grandmother would have liked this kind of thing.”

 

“I had a grandmother?”

 

“Ah.”

 

Come to think of it, Choi Man-bok had never once told the child about his grandmother’s existence.

 

Bringing up that topic was painful for him.

 

But he couldn’t hide it forever.

 

So he resolved to tell the child in a very gentle way for her sake.

 

“Your grandmother was a really good person.”

 

The sunset was setting.

 

The reason he thought he would tell her was because the sunlight touched his heart.

 

‘I’m going now.’

 

When his wife had pushed his back, the sunset was setting too.

 

Just like now.

—————
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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