A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 80

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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 80. Losstime (2)

It was dark.

Neither of the two knew what was dark.

It could have been the tone coming from the piano, or it could have been what they were seeing.

Heeseong’s performance began, and the two forgot how to breathe.

It was so suffocating.

As they listened, their breath kept getting blocked.

The child’s left hand moved slowly.

The two each recalled different things.

 – Screech!

Jeong Mi-rae recalled the lights of that night.

Was it because the lights were too bright?

She couldn’t do anything.

She could only stare straight ahead.

The more she listened to the child’s performance, the more she felt overwhelmed by something.

‘Wh-what…!’

No matter what she tried to think, she couldn’t.

With her breath suffocating and her stomach churning, what could she say?

If she stayed still, she felt like she would retch without knowing it.

This feeling was a first.

And it was the same for the principal beside her.

What she felt when the piece began was awkwardness.

And then came anxiety.

The anxiety that he might have written a strange piece enveloped her.

But not now.

Should she call it awe?

Something sticky was approaching to engulf her.

‘Ah, ah…!’

And she could soon tell what it was.

It was the past.

The principal could tell that a terrible past was coming to engulf her.

Her breath was cut off by that terrible past from which she couldn’t escape and had no way to deal with.

Something pressed violently against her chest.

‘What on earth is this…!’

‘What is this, Heeseong…’

Jeong Mi-rae and the principal thought simultaneously.

That’s how irregular Heeseong’s piece was.

Was it expressing something struggling?

It wasn’t consistent.

The dissonance kept pressing against their chests, making them want to escape but unable to.

But contrary to the anxiety, they wanted to keep listening to the piece.

What on earth.

What on earth did he want to express by starting like this?

The two had no choice but to stay still.

Ting-♪

The melody began to change.

It was calm.

The transition was so natural.

Just moments ago they were in a sticky swamp, but now they were suddenly on a meadow.

This time too, the two saw different things in their vision.

‘A hospital room…?’

It was a hospital room.

But it wasn’t a red hospital room.

It was a very calm early morning hospital room.

Warm sunlight entered the hospital room, illuminating red roses.

Outside the window, they could see the movement of leaves swaying in the spring breeze.

‘Wow…’

The melody flowing from the child’s hands was boring yet not boring at the same time.

Heeseong was doing something difficult.

He was playing freely in the gap between those two.

“Amazing…”

Jeong Mi-rae spoke without realizing it.

The child’s talent had already surpassed her own.

It was a fact she already knew, but today she felt it painfully once again.

‘Ha. If he’s good at both performing and composing, that’s too unfair.’

The accompaniment continued for a long time.

She could see him somehow pressing the pedal with his toes.

Even as his posture collapsed, the piece didn’t fall apart.

Rather, it became stable.

What kind of talent is this?

Jeong Mi-rae was beyond bewildered.

What was even more bewildering was that the piece was so good.

The dark part was so good that she couldn’t even remember it.

Tang-!♬

The child’s left and right hands pressed keys simultaneously.

Jeong Mi-rae could tell.

That was the child’s emotion.

It was joy.

It was delight, ecstasy, and pleasure.

What on earth was so joyful?

Jeong Mi-rae became curious.

‘That’s not a 5-year-old’s emotion…’

The range of joy was different.

It was an expression on a different level from other children.

She could see strength entering his fingers.

That was the threshold of emotion.

He was expressing heightened emotion by combining the strength of his fingers with the piano’s sound.

Higher notes and a faster piece.

Heeseong’s shoulders were swaying.

She felt happiness without realizing it from the child’s melody that crossed octaves.

“Ah.”

Jeong Mi-rae realized it.

What Heeseong intended.

The child’s emotion was happiness.

He was speaking that ambiguous emotion in his own language.

Was that why?

“Ha, haha…!”

Jeong Mi-rae became infected without realizing it.

She tasted that overflowing happiness.

It was so sweet that she felt like laughing.

But happiness never lasts long.

Hee-seong was now moving only his right hand.

The two people let out sighs of regret.

Ding…

The last note lingered long.

Hee-seong was smiling, enjoying the lingering sound.

Jeong Mi-rae watched him and thought.

‘The winner has already been decided.’

If he performs a piece created by that 5-year-old child rather than a predetermined piece.

The competition venue would probably go wild.

Thinking of such a future, Jeong Mi-rae couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Sniff…”

But there was someone who felt the opposite of her.

Jeong Mi-rae turned her head toward the direction where she heard crying.

“P-Principal?”

The principal, whose presence had disappeared, was just quietly crying.

While feeling relief at such a beautiful performance.

***

‘Ah… I did well!’

This was my first proper performance after completing the piece.

How should I put it.

It became cleaner.

The emotional expression improved, and there was no excess.

I smiled at a performance I could be satisfied with myself.

‘Good. If I turn around now, it would look cool, right?’

I turned around.

‘Huh?’

I saw the principal crying.

Why, why is she crying?

While I was caught up in confusion.

Clap clap!

The principal poured out enthusiastic applause.

Following her lead, Jeong Mi-rae and my parents were also clapping.

This situation was a bit confusing for me.

Like the beginning part of the piece I just performed.

The principal wiped her tears and approached me.

Jeong Mi-rae and my parents were following behind her.

“Your performance was truly wonderful, Hee-seong.”

“R-really?”

“Of course! It was the best.”

When I actually heard the praise, my cheeks became hot without me knowing.

Seeing that, Jeong Mi-rae also added a word.

“It was good, Hee-seong.”

Jeong Mi-rae, wearing semi-formal attire today as well, said.

With praise from both people, I didn’t know what to do with myself.

“Is it all finished?”

Father asked.

At that voice, the principal turned around and said.

“Yes! I think we can rest today.”

At those words, Father let out a sigh of relief and quietly murmured.

“Finally, tomorrow has come.”

“Hee-seong has worked so hard all this time. Still, I’m really grateful that he overcame it like this.”

“Hehe.”

I smiled slightly.

I was embarrassed and had nothing to say.

And since my parents answered for me, it didn’t matter.

“Thank you. Then, we’ll be going in.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

And so we left the preschool.

On the way home.

My mood felt different today.

I was slightly worried that I might hear bad things from others.

I was even more worried about the principal.

‘If the result was strange after waiting for so long, her heart would be completely crushed.’

Still, it was really fortunate that she liked it.

I was feeling incredibly good right now.

“Hee-seong.”

Then Father called me.

At his serious voice, I unconsciously gulped.

I had a slight idea of what question he would ask.

Probably…

“What were you thinking when you composed?”

I thought so.

Earlier, it was late and the conversation seemed like it would get long, so he must have held back.

But now it wasn’t, so he was asking the question he had been holding back.

A composer would be very curious about it.

I answered Father’s question wholeheartedly.

“Happiness!”

“Happiness?”

“Yes!”

“Aha… Haha, is that so?”

Father laughed as if he had realized something.

I also seemed to know what Father had figured out.

While signals were passing between just the two of us.

“What is it, what? Tell me too.”

“It’s a secret.”

Father smiled mischievously.

Mother glared at such a father.

Father, who had been chuckling for a moment, looked at me and said.

“Son, you didn’t have any hard times, did you?”

“No! I didn’t!”

“Good, then that’s all that matters.”

“Huh? Tell me too, I said?”

Father glanced at Mother and said.

He seemed to be in a playful mood.

“You don’t know that? It’s super easy though?”

“Don’t you want to eat dinner?”

“Ahem, it’s a joke. A joke.”

Still, since he had to eat the dinner Mother made, Father backed down.

As expected of Mother, the number one in our family hierarchy.

Father cleared his throat and said.

“What did you think when you heard Hee-seong’s piece?”

“It was good. To think our son composed such an amazing piece. I held back from bragging about it.”

“Then, what do you think when you consider the theme Hee-seong mentioned and the piece? Do the images seem similar?”

Mother thought for a moment and said.

“No? The middle and latter parts resemble happiness, but the beginning doesn’t seem like it.”

“That’s also happiness.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you need hardship to obtain happiness.”

Well, it wasn’t 100% accurate, but my intention was correct anyway.

Father’s shoulders were raised high, as if he thought his interpretation was the correct answer.

“Really? Hee-seong, is that true?”

“Um… I guess so?”

“What do you mean ‘I guess so’? Don’t you know either, Hee-seong?”

“No! I mean, um…!”

It was somehow difficult to explain.

To explain my intention, I would have to talk about the past.

There was no need to mention difficult things.

Also, even if I explained it slowly, it would be a story that’s hard to believe at face value.

And it was fine not to say anything in particular.

“Father is right!”

“See! Haha! That’s me alright!”

“Oh my.”

“With that meaning, how about chicken for dinner tonight?”

“No.”

“Why! Hee-seong wants to eat chicken, right? Right?”

“Chicken is tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow?”

Mother looked at me and smiled.

I knew that smile came from the confidence of believing without a doubt.

And was it just my imagination that I saw Mother from the past for a moment?

“We should eat it after winning an award at tomorrow’s competition to make it taste better. So let’s eat it tomorrow, Hee-seong.”

I listened to her words and said with a smile.

“Sounds good!”

Chicken eaten after winning an award.

It seemed like it would taste the best.

***

The day of the competition dawned.

There would be many performances here today.

And in the end, the best would be decided.

I ate something delicious yesterday and got a good night’s sleep.

I had no regrets.

‘I prepared well.’

Inside the bus heading to the competition venue.

All the children from the Special Class were there.

‘Everyone seems nervous.’

The inside of the bus, which would normally be noisy, was now too quiet.

Aeyeon sitting next to me too.

Garam and Aeyeon sitting in front were also quiet.

Park Bom, who was originally quiet, was even quieter.

The inside of the bus was as silent as inside a carriage heading to war.

“Everyone!”

Then Jeong Mi-rae spoke.

She, who was sitting in the front seat of the bus, drew the children’s attention with a loud voice.

There was no change in her expression.

But her slightly stammering tone represented her state of mind.

“You’re very nervous, right?”

“Yes…”

“I’m scared…”

Even though they had practiced the day before yesterday, the children were still trembling.

I could understand.

Because I knew how scary it was to reveal yourself in front of complete strangers.

I had been like that too.

Everyone has a first time.

“But it’s okay. You can make mistakes. It’s okay to mess up. We practiced a lot, didn’t we?”

The children began to listen intently to what Jeong Mi-rae was saying, holding their breath.

They concentrated on her every word and gesture, trying not to miss anything.

Jeong Mi-rae began to put sincerity into every word she said, as if to repay them.

“So just play until the end. Just like we practiced!”

Even at her words, the children had no response.

That meant they were that nervous.

If there was a small change at times like this, other children would follow too.

“Yes!”

I answered loudly.

At that voice, the surrounding children’s gazes focused.

I especially felt Aeyeon staring at me intently.

“Fighting!”

“Let’s go!”

Reacting to my voice, other children also began to speak.

Garam with the loud voice, and timid Ajin too.

And even usually cold Aeyeon all responded.

The atmosphere inside the bus changed.

Everyone had flowers of confidence blooming one by one in their hearts.

‘Good, now it begins!’

Wait for us, we’ll sweep all the awards!

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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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