A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 71

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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 71. Mirror Within Mirror (5)

 

“Huh? What! Why are you guys here!”

 

At that voice, all eyes in the cafe turned toward us.

 

“Hey! What! Why are you here!”

 

“Brother?!”

 

This time Father and Mother’s voices rang out even louder.

 

Everyone’s gaze shifted once again.

 

‘Why is Shin Seong-jin here…? And why does he have a guitar…?’

 

Shin Seong-jin’s outfit right now had a bit too much flair for someone just out for a neighborhood stroll.

 

The stylish leather jacket and sunglasses perched on his head were proof of that.

 

So he looked like someone who came to perform.

 

And my guess wasn’t wrong.

 

“Oh…! It’s Uncle…!”

 

Ajin’s small voice echoed loudly in the quiet cafe.

 

“You came? But did you know Heeseong’s parents?”

 

“Yeah, he’s my music colleague. Nice to see you here, isn’t it?”

 

My parents’ surprised emotions seemed to settle a bit as their tone returned to normal.

 

“Are you still traveling around these days?”

 

At Mother’s words, question marks appeared in my head.

 

‘Does Mother know something?’

 

Honestly, I never dreamed that Shin Seong-jin would appear here.

 

But seeing Mother’s reaction, it seemed like she understood something.

 

Shin Seong-jin being here seemed quite familiar to Mother.

 

“That’s right. Today it’s here.”

 

His words made my curiosity explode even more.

 

I couldn’t hold back anymore and asked Father who was nearby.

 

“Father. Is Uncle traveling?”

 

“That’s right. Brother Seong-jin sometimes comes to cafes to perform. We call that traveling.”

 

“Ah! Did Mother do it too?”

 

“She did it before.”

 

I could guess what came after that.

 

‘She must have rested after giving birth to me.’

 

All of Mother’s activities stopped after she gave birth to me.

 

I felt sorry about that for no reason.

 

‘Well, she looks incredibly happy these days, so I guess it’s okay?’

 

It was the same now.

 

Mother wore a bright smile as she introduced Shin Seong-jin to Aeyeon’s Mother and Grandfather Manbok.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Seong-jin. Please take care of me.”

 

“Please take care of us.”

 

“I’m looking forward to today’s performance.”

 

The adults were also busy talking about this and that.

 

Grandfather Manbok, who didn’t know that Mother was a singer, showed particular interest.

 

It made sense since this was the first time they were properly talking as fellow parents.

 

“But what brought everyone together today?”

 

“The cafe owner told us to come hang out. Somehow we ended up coming with the children.”

 

At Mother’s words, Shin Seong-jin’s gaze shifted.

 

Garam and Aeyeon, seeing him for the first time, showed signs of nervousness.

 

Ajin seemed happy as his cheeks were slightly flushed.

 

He also seemed excited.

 

He brightened his face and waved his hand.

 

The children also waved back at him like mirrors.

 

“Heeseong, you led this, didn’t you?”

 

“Well…”

 

I couldn’t answer his question properly.

 

While we gathered because of Garam’s words, I was the one who started it.

 

So in the end, it was no different from being gathered because of me.

 

I had no choice but to nod.

 

“I knew it would be like that.”

 

Following his words, the adults looked at me warmly.

 

Looking at it now, I was connected to all the adults gathered here.

 

They were the ones who gave me inspiration to create music happily.

 

‘Something good seems like it will happen today too.’

 

I turned my head to look at Kim Sang-jin.

 

He was also smiling while sipping his latte.

 

Shin Seong-jin changed the topic and spoke to Kim Sang-jin.

 

“Are there no other customers?”

 

“Haha… Unfortunately not.”

 

“Then, they’re all people we know?”

 

“That’s… right?”

 

Shin Seong-jin, who was talking with Kim Sang-jin, began to smile mischievously.

 

As the two said, the cafe customers were only my parents and the children.

 

Plus the person who would perform today.

 

In other words, they were all familiar faces.

 

“Then, let’s have fun among ourselves!”

 

Everyone showed a slightly surprised reaction to Shin Seong-jin’s words.

 

He added a bit of reasoning.

 

“Jieun, you sing. Young-hoon, you play piano. Let’s do it like the old days.”

 

There wasn’t much reasoning to it.

 

It was almost like a command.

 

And Father, who made a bewildered expression at that command, said.

 

“Why should I?”

 

“Well, to have fun!”

 

“But why!”

 

“As far as I know, Heeseong goes to a music kindergarten, right?”

 

“That’s right…?”

 

I could tell that Shin Seong-jin was indeed close to Mother.

 

He even knew that I went to a music kindergarten.

 

Father pulled his body back and said.

 

“So what?”

 

“Then, wouldn’t it be a good experience for the children?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The children…?”

 

Aeyeon’s Mother and Grandfather Manbok reacted.

 

It was a natural reaction.

 

Everyone here was a guardian of the children.

 

So they had no choice but to react to stories involving the children.

 

“I’d like to hear what you mean.”

 

“If they go to a music kindergarten, they should experience even a small stage.”

 

“You mean a fun experience? Then, I understand.”

 

“That’s right, sir. You seem to have stage experience?”

 

“I played the violin a bit.”

 

It wasn’t just “a bit.”

 

Grandfather Manbok spoke about his past without hesitation.

 

Unlike before when he was reluctant, I felt a little relieved to see him change even slightly.

 

“So you’re saying we should teach them how to have fun, is that it?”

 

“That’s right. So instead of the piece we originally planned to perform, we’re going to play songs you want to hear.”

 

At his words, Aeyeon’s Mother showed a slightly contemplative expression.

 

“That sounds fun!”

 

A voice broke through her contemplation.

 

Everyone turned their heads toward where the voice came from.

 

There was Garam, sitting up on his chair, completely excited.

 

“I want to try it too!”

 

Aeyeon also spoke up.

 

Unlike usual, she seemed excited and expectant.

 

“Me too…!”

 

Ajin also said.

 

Everyone was saying they wanted to do it with great enthusiasm.

 

‘Well, it would be a rare opportunity for the children.’

 

Enjoying someone else’s performance would also be a great learning experience for the children.

 

I stayed quiet.

 

But I was apparently too quiet, because I belatedly realized that everyone’s gaze was now directed at me.

 

“Well… hurry up!”

 

At my words, everyone burst into laughter.

 

“Hahaha! Alright, shall we hurry? Sang-jin, help me prepare.”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Hehe, Hee-seong’s face turned red!”

 

What’s so funny?

 

I hurriedly gulped down my milk to hide my burning cheeks.

 

***

 

“Now! Even if it’s just us here, we should still do introductions, right?”

 

“Waaaah!”

 

“Uncle is so cool!”

 

At Shin Seong-jin’s words, the children cheered, and Kim Sang-jin cheered along.

 

The cafe grew dark, with only a few lights illuminating the stage.

 

“I’m Shin Seong-jin, performing today. Please take care of me.”

 

After introducing himself, he handed the microphone to Mother.

 

Mother, who had somehow ended up on stage for real, wore an awkward expression.

 

Finding this amusing, Aeyeon’s Mother was also smiling.

 

It was like watching a friend’s funny behavior and laughing.

 

‘I didn’t think she’d actually get on stage.’

 

I thought Shin Seong-jin was joking.

 

But apparently he was serious, as he forcibly sat Father in front of the piano and brought out a large amplifier from somewhere.

 

While he connected his guitar and tuned it, he told Mother to warm up her voice, and that’s how we got to this point.

 

“Um… I’m Shin Ji-eun. This is sudden, but I’ll do my best.”

 

Mother immediately brought the microphone to Father’s lips as he sat dazed at the piano.

 

“I’m Yoon Young-hoon…”

 

Father’s voice lacked energy.

 

It was understandable since this was all improvised without any preparation.

 

“For now, we’ll start with something gentle.”

 

“But we didn’t prepare anything?”

 

“There’s that song we used to do a lot. We can just do that one.”

 

“Oh, that one?”

 

Father looked bewildered, while Mother reacted with understanding.

 

When Shin Seong-jin quietly said something to Father, he showed a reaction of understanding.

 

While everyone was curious, Father cleared his throat a few times and placed his hands on the piano.

 

Ding-♪

 

Using that as a signal, both adults and children who were watching held their breath.

 

I was curious what song they would perform.

 

It seemed like a song I didn’t know.

 

‘Judging by Aeyeon’s Mother’s reaction, is it an old song?’

 

Aeyeon’s Mother reacted as soon as she heard the piano accompaniment.

 

At first she tilted her head, then soon showed a surprised reaction and opened her mouth wide.

 

Looking to the side, Grandfather Manbok was also nodding his head.

 

-In my youth♩

 

Matching Mother’s voice, Shin Seong-jin also moved his hands.

 

It wasn’t the warm tone of an acoustic guitar, but the clean tone of the electric guitar was also nice.

 

It was like coffee that had cooled down somehow?

 

I liked the bittersweet tone.

 

-Love was nowhere to be seen♩

 

Mother’s voice began to walk lightly over the piano and guitar.

 

As I felt at the small performance hall before, Mother’s voice was clear.

 

It was so pure that just listening quietly made me smile naturally.

 

“Wow…”

 

The children seemed to feel it too, as they were all just expressing admiration.

 

Among them, Garam, who usually had a lot of flair, was even more so.

 

Garam’s eyes were sparkling so much it felt like they were replacing the spotlight.

 

‘This is nice.’

 

I felt good too.

 

I liked this time of singing and enjoying together with people I knew.

 

I didn’t feel tired at all.

 

-We shall meet again!♪

 

Mother hit the high note refreshingly.

 

At that unobstructed voice, we who had become the audience couldn’t help but go wild.

 

It was different from the previous performance.

 

Shin Seong-jin had taken off his leather jacket and sunglasses and was dressed comfortably.

 

Mother was also wearing comfortable pants and clothes.

 

The lighting and equipment were all poor, but that made it feel even better.

 

“How was it?”

 

The first performance passed in an instant.

 

When Mother asked shyly, the children cheered.

 

“Wow!”

 

“Amazing!”

 

“The best…!”

 

“Isn’t Hee-seong going to answer?”

 

“It was really good! Awesome!”

 

I said while giving a thumbs up.

 

At that action, all the adults made pleased expressions.

 

Shin Seong-jin, who took over the microphone, spoke.

 

“So our first performance is over. For the next song, whoever raises their hand first will get to request a song. One, two…!”

 

Shin Seong-jin began counting.

 

A quiet tension began to flow slowly.

 

“Three!”

 

“Me, me!

 

“Meeeee!”

 

The ones who shouted the loudest were Aeyeon’s Mother and Garam.

 

By a very narrow margin, Aeyeon’s Mother spoke first.

 

No one had expected Aeyeon’s Mother to raise her hand so suddenly, so everyone’s gaze was fixed on her.

 

“Oh, no, I, well…”

 

Aeyeon’s Mother was flustered and stammering.

 

She usually had a cool-headed image, but seeing her so flustered now made me chuckle a little.

 

“Yes! Is there a song you’d like to hear?”

 

“Oh, Garam can go first if he wants.”

 

“Is that really okay?!”

 

Garam said with wide eyes.

 

Perhaps because he learned at kindergarten that he should follow order, he seemed to think he should follow order here too.

 

Garam was thinking for a moment.

 

“Chuchoo…? No! Um… Aeyeon, what should we do?”

 

“Do whatever you want.”

 

“Ajin, do you have something you want to hear?”

 

“No.”

 

“What about you, Heeseong?”

 

“If you’re going to do this, why did you raise your hand?”

 

“Hehe.”

 

It seemed like he had unconsciously raised his hand during the countdown.

 

It looked like we might stay up all night at this rate, so Shin Seong-jin quickly spoke up.

 

“Then, would it be okay if Aunt goes first?”

 

“Yes! That’s fine!”

 

Garam answered loudly.

 

Aeyeon’s Mother replied with gratitude.

 

After thinking for a moment, Aeyeon’s Mother said.

 

“It’s a bit of an old song, would that be okay?”

 

“Of course! If it’s a song we know, we’ll sing it for you.”

 

“It’s a song called Don’t Know Why…”

 

“Ah. I know what song that is.”

 

“Me too!”

 

Mother and Shin Seong-jin said.

 

But Father was tilting his head, seemingly unfamiliar with the song.

 

Seeing Father like that, Shin Seong-jin said.

 

“You don’t know this song?”

 

“I don’t know every song in the world, hyung…”

 

“Oh dear… Then just guitar and vocals without piano… Huh?”

 

Shin Seong-jin’s voice rose a little.

 

He made a puzzled sound while looking at someone.

 

He carefully spoke to the child.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Aeyeon had her hand raised.

 

Tension was rising on that small child’s face.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————