A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 78

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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 78. Dream (6)

 

Day 8.

 

The day after we had our conversation, Aunt said this to me:

 

“I submitted it to the competition.”

 

One task had come to an end like this.

 

Now I could focus entirely on composing.

 

And thankfully, I had gotten a huge hint from Aunt, and I felt like I could finally finish the composition.

 

“I need to wrap things up too.”

 

Aunt had a goal called happiness.

 

I used various forms to find that happiness.

 

Baroque, classical.

 

And yesterday, though briefly, I tried composing while thinking about impressionism.

 

‘Impressionism.’

 

A musical movement that was popular during the time I lived.

 

Impressionism literally aimed to capture impressions.

 

It focused on exploring subtle colors and tones and expressing them.

 

The color of light, the scent of water, the expression of a passing man.

 

It was busy concentrating on expressing such things.

 

It was a form that revealed a focus on expressing something rather than having a clear goal.

 

‘Just like me.’

 

But it was slightly different.

 

I had a purpose.

 

There were explosions and there was stability.

 

When I thought about it carefully, that was true.

 

As Friend said, I expressed someone’s memories, experiences, and thoughts.

 

I composed while thinking of two children playing happily.

 

I moved my hands while thinking of the blueness of Cheonggyecheon.

 

I expressed the complaints of a scoundrel, and also depicted a baby’s babbling.

 

‘Right, there was no need to be bound by anything.’

 

I seemed to have had such foolish thoughts.

 

I just needed to express things in my own way, yet I tried to follow others.

 

I could have embraced everything.

 

“…That guy.”

 

I smiled gently as I spoke.

 

I was truly grateful.

 

For being able to meet Friend after so long, for being able to have an enjoyable conversation.

 

Next time, I wanted to tell him thank you.

 

Until then, I would make my own music as he had reminded me.

 

“Alright, let’s begin.”

 

Ding-♪

 

I struck the piano.

 

I thought about the nightmare.

 

Though it was now unclear whether it was a nightmare, I thought about my past self anyway.

 

Mother from the past, who had been smiling in that shabby pub.

 

I thought of her face, always maintaining a smile even when things were difficult.

 

And I expressed that through the piano.

 

Hands that had many scars.

 

A room filled with screams.

 

A warm embrace.

 

I spoke of it with my hands.

 

Thump-♬

 

I wanted to speak with only my left hand.

 

Because such stories didn’t need to say much.

 

What was needed now was atmosphere.

 

It was fine if the notes were distorted or awkward.

 

It didn’t matter as long as all of it transformed into a single melody to create atmosphere.

 

‘It’s okay. Even if it’s dark.’

 

It was still the sketching stage, so it was fine to make mistakes.

 

Even if it was so dark that my chest felt stuffy, even if it felt like my tear ducts would burst, it was okay.

 

Everything was okay.

 

‘…’

 

I stopped my hands for a moment.

 

Many thoughts arose.

 

I fell into contemplation about whether it was okay to express the dark parts of the past.

 

Then I thought of Friend’s face.

 

Even though he was worn down by fatigue, he was looking at me with a cheerful smile.

 

Accordingly, I found myself smiling without realizing it.

 

“Right, worrying only delays things.”

 

Let’s try expressing everything that comes to mind.

 

Even if it’s chaotic now, it will probably look quite good later.

 

Da- dadadan-♩

 

I moved my hands diligently.

 

I kept moving without stopping.

 

I didn’t stop while thinking of the darkness of the past.

 

– Not enough! It’s not enough!

 

‘That person’ was always busy making such sounds.

 

Without knowing what was lacking, I had no choice but to follow his words.

 

My right hand pressed the keys.

 

It was still dark.

 

Do, sol, la.

 

Each time I pressed a note, scenes from the past passed by like a panorama.

 

Verbal abuse.

 

Violence.

 

Explosion.

 

The sound gradually began to thicken.

 

It was so dark that I absolutely couldn’t stay still.

 

I wanted to escape somehow.

 

I hated being unable to do anything like my past self.

 

If you stay quiet without saying anything, everything gets taken away.

 

I had to move.

 

I could only do something by desperately moving my feet.

 

Ding dadadan-!♪

 

My left and right hands crossed.

 

Like feet rolling, my hands also rolled.

 

I kept moving without stopping.

 

I thought.

 

If I hadn’t stayed still.

 

If I could have moved faster to save Mother.

 

‘Would a better future have been waiting?’

 

I couldn’t know.

 

I could only hope for that.

 

The left hand’s accompaniment repeatedly played low notes.

 

It was slow and mournful, making my chest feel heavy.

 

On the other hand, the right hand kept moving forward.

 

The notes were gradually getting higher.

 

It was hopeful like the dream I wished for.

 

That’s why I didn’t stop.

 

‘The accompaniment is also gradually becoming brighter!’

 

Even if the beginning was dark, the end was captivated by hope.

 

If I listened quietly, it felt like a cool breeze would blow.

 

Then I remembered the dream with my friend.

 

The scenery I saw from under the tree shade began to come back vividly.

 

The vast meadow and the blue sky without a single cloud.

 

I opened my chest wide and took a deep breath.

 

It felt like clean air without a speck of dust was filling my lungs.

 

“Cough!”

 

But reality had far too much fine dust.

 

I had to stop playing the piano for a moment.

 

‘Should I rest for a bit?’

 

I would drink some water and go to the bathroom.

 

But all of this didn’t go according to plan.

 

Mother sitting on the sofa.

 

She was smiling.

 

“Oh, Mom?”

 

“Hee-seong, you need to sleep now. It’s already 12 o’clock.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

It felt like she would explode if touched.

 

Father wasn’t home.

 

Would Father, who was coming home late, be able to survive Mother?

 

***

 

Day 14.

 

Two weeks had passed.

 

Many things had happened.

 

The other children were practicing earnestly.

 

The same was true for Garam and Ajin.

 

Oh, Park Bom was also working hard.

 

“Is it fun?”

 

“Yes! It’s fun! Do you want to do it too, Hee-seong?”

 

“Yeah, let’s do it together…!”

 

“Let’s do it.”

 

The children were busy practicing the piece Jeong Mi-rae had played for them last time.

 

At first they didn’t think much of it, but after practicing a lot, they said they liked it.

 

The violin must be difficult, but seeing Garam working hard made me proud.

 

When I asked last time, she said Grandfather Manbok was helping her earnestly.

 

Ajin was the same.

 

Kim Sang-jin was also teaching Ajin piano.

 

Park Bom was doing well on her own, so there was no worry.

 

On the other hand, Aeyeon was…

 

“Aren’t you practicing?”

 

“I am practicing.”

 

“…That?”

 

“Yeah. I’m playing piano, aren’t I?”

 

Aeyeon wasn’t practicing.

 

To be precise, after saying she had decided last time, she was now playing a different piece.

 

She was playing whatever piece she wanted to play.

 

“I’m doing it at the academy.”

 

Aeyeon said that.

 

If she was doing it at the academy, why wasn’t she doing it at preschool?

 

When I asked that, Aeyeon said this:

 

“Secret!”

 

That’s right.

 

Aeyeon wasn’t practicing at Hanseol Preschool because she wanted to surprise us.

 

But did Aeyeon know?

 

That everyone would find out anyway.

 

I didn’t say much.

 

A child’s innocence should be protected.

 

“Hee-seong.”

 

Then Jeong Mi-rae approached.

 

Her haggard expression and forced smile looked a bit pitiful.

 

She had been living very busy days lately, preparing for the Baek Music Competition and handling preschool work.

 

Even so, she made time to talk to me.

 

“How is the composition going?”

 

I found it difficult to say anything.

 

The composition was going well.

 

But the period was getting too long.

 

Each day when I played, different results came out.

 

So I couldn’t speak rashly.

 

“Um… Yes!”

 

“Good, let me know when you finish.”

 

Jeong Mi-rae didn’t say much.

 

Perhaps because she didn’t want to pressure me, she always spoke with a smile.

 

I wanted to repay that smile.

 

***

 

One month.

 

This was the last.

 

I could sense it intuitively.

 

Sitting in front of the piano, I felt that the piece would be complete if I just played it once.

 

For nearly a month, people had said many good things to me.

 

Mother and Father always cheered me on.

 

Aunt Sujin also cheered me on by buying delicious things.

 

All the other children also showed their expectations toward me.

 

Everyone who knew the situation was cheering for me.

 

‘Good. I need to repay them.’

 

I had received their support, and I needed to repay it.

 

Now let me move my hands.

 

Thump-♩

 

The beginning was heavy.

 

Heavy as always.

 

Dark and gloomy like my past, listening quietly felt like swallowing a giant clump of dust.

 

Like feet stuck in a swamp, the piano’s melody was sticky.

 

I began to struggle to escape.

 

I pressed my right hand to grab a tree branch.

 

It was a struggle to find something.

 

It was suffocating.

 

I thought I wanted the person listening to this piece to feel suffocated.

 

I moved my hands so they would feel like drinking cold water.

 

‘Not yet.’

 

I had to struggle as much as possible until I escaped.

 

If I didn’t, the nightmares of the past would swallow me whole.

 

The monster sleeping in the swamp slowly reaches out its hand.

 

Thump- Taan-♩

 

My left hand slowly began to create an accompaniment.

 

Dissonance arose, and the rhythm was strange.

 

It got faster, then slower.

 

It was an unpredictable movement for the listener.

 

‘But I can’t stay in the past forever.’

 

The movement of my right hand changed.

 

And at the same time, I thought.

 

‘I can do it all.’

 

The explosion of Baroque.

 

The order of Classical.

 

The expression of Impressionism.

 

These were all things I had experienced.

 

Tan-♪

 

The high notes showed bright order.

 

I slowly expressed the feeling of being reborn as Yoon Hee-seong.

 

I thought of the time when I was so bewildered and amazed that I couldn’t do anything.

 

Even in the repetition of the same day, I could feel my parents’ love.

 

The endlessly repeating touch.

 

I struck the keys while recalling the touch that stroked my head and patted my shoulders.

 

‘Even in the past…’

 

I had such thoughts.

 

If I could have received such touch in the past too.

 

If there had been a hand to stroke my head when I was struggling.

 

Could my past have truly changed?

 

I’m not sure.

 

Taan- ♬

 

I continued to express that question.

 

My left and right hands moved simultaneously.

 

I was doing something that wouldn’t be used in Classicism.

 

I was creating a mysterious atmosphere like Impressionism.

 

This was my concern.

 

Probably a concern I would have in the future too.

 

I gave strength to that concern.

 

I pressed the pedal to sustain the sound.

 

Taaan-

 

Through the unceasing sound, my memories began to pass by one by one.

 

I helped Father and met many other people.

 

I received help too.

 

I got inspiration and created good pieces.

 

And I still had no intention of stopping.

 

Therefore, all that remained was to move forward.

 

‘Even if there are obstacles.’

 

Whatever it may be, I will move forward without caring.

 

Tang-!♬

 

My right and left hands struck the piano keys simultaneously.

 

Unlike before, it wasn’t because I was struggling, but to express my emotions.

 

This was joy bursting forth.

 

The joy of being able to do music again.

 

The joy of being able to help my family.

 

The joy of meeting friends.

 

I experienced a miracle that would never happen again.

 

I expressed that emotion without reserve.

 

The noun “happiness” was meant to be used at times like this.

 

The piece was ending, but this had to be expressed.

 

“Thank you.”

 

I was grateful for everything.

 

The miracle of being reborn.

 

A life born into a musical family with musicians around me.

 

And.

 

“For teaching me again.”

 

I put my gratitude toward my old friend who appeared in my dream.

 

Tan…

 

The last note continued for a long time.

 

And.

 

“…Complete.”

 

The piece was complete.

 

***

 

“The competition starts soon. Mirae, are you all prepared?”

 

“Everyone worked hard. You can trust us.”

 

“That child too…?”

 

“Yes. He must have completed it.”

 

The start of the competition was gradually approaching.

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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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