A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 81

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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 81. Butterfly (1)

“Wow….”

The children began letting out exclamations of admiration one by one.

And rightfully so, since I heard they rented out an entire gymnasium as the venue for the competition.

I found out by accidentally overhearing a conversation between the Principal and Jeong Mi-rae.

‘Uh…. It seems like they spent a lot of money….’

The gymnasium was a bit too big.

Yes, tremendously big.

Perhaps because of that, I could see all too well how nervous the children were getting.

“Kids, are you nervous?”

“Yeah. I’m scared.”

“I’m so nervous! What should I do!”

“It’ll, it’ll be okay….”

Everyone showed different reactions.

Aeyeon spoke indifferently, and Garam spoke loudly.

Ajin was trying his best in his own way, which looked a bit pitiful.

The children who answered me soon focused their gazes in one direction.

I realized a bit late that those gazes were directed at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Heeseong, aren’t you scared?!”

“Uh… I’m fine though?”

“H-how can that be possible…?”

“That’s weird.”

Is that so?

Maybe because I’ve gotten used to performing in front of people, I wasn’t particularly nervous.

Rather, I was a bit excited.

‘Since it’s for the stage, they’ll probably use a really expensive piano, right?’

I was even a bit thrilled thinking about what kind of piano would be on stage.

The children stepped back while looking at me like that.

“Heeseong got weird again today!”

“Let’s run away.”

“H-Heeseong is scarier!”

“What did I even do!”

Jeong Mi-rae approached after hearing my aggrieved voice.

It seemed like she, who had been counting the children until just before, came over to us because of the commotion.

“Kids, what’s going on?”

“Heeseong is being weird!”

“Huh? Are you sick somewhere?”

“No!”

“Heeseong isn’t getting nervous….”

After hearing Garam and Heeseong’s answers, Jeong Mi-rae looked stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly.

Young Teacher, who was laughing while covering her mouth, wiped away tears and said.

“Well, your teacher is like that too?”

“Really?!”

“Amazing….”

“Young Teacher is awesome.”

“Teacher doesn’t get nervous because she’s been on stage a lot. Heeseong is the same, right?”

“Uh… no?”

I could see Jeong Mi-rae getting slightly flustered at those words.

After thinking for a moment, she said “Ah!”

“Then, it must be because you play piano a lot!”

“Does that have anything to do with….”

“Now, shall we line up and go? Try holding the shoulder of the friend in front of you.”

“I’m going to hold Ajin’s shoulder!”

Young Teacher, who lightly brushed off my answer, began leading the children.

Everyone lining up in a single file like ants was quite cute.

I naturally ended up at the back of the line, with the Principal standing behind me.

While we were walking like that for a while.

‘What’s with that kid?’

Some snake-like looking child was staring at me intently.

And behind that child was a snake-like looking per…son?

‘Why, why is that person here…?’

***

“Thank you for lending us your car again today.”

“Not at all, sir.”

“Thanks to you, we came here comfortably.”

“Seong-jin and Ye-eun also came in Ye-eun’s car, so you don’t need to feel burdened!”

Inside the car heading to the competition venue.

Choi Man-bok was expressing his gratitude to Yoon Young-hoon and Shin Ji-eun.

The two people had a warm conversation while worrying about the children.

“I wonder if the little ones will do well.”

“They’ll do well. Though they’ll probably be nervous.”

Heeseong probably won’t be nervous at all though.”

“…I think so too.”

Yoon Young-hoon quite felt that way.

He had made mistake after mistake due to nerves on his first stage as a child, but he had faith that Heeseong would perfectly finish his performance.

The car continued running on the road without rest, and before long arrived at the competition venue.

“…Was this such a big competition?”

Yoon Young-hoon spoke for the other two people’s feelings.

All three people were veterans with extensive stage experience.

Moreover, one of them was skilled enough to have performed solo on the world stage.

“Still, this is on the smaller side.”

“What? This is considered small…?”

“That’s right. The really big ones inspire awe just by looking at them.”

The two people couldn’t quite grasp it.

Whatever the case, it seemed like they’d have to see it directly to understand.

Thinking about the children going up on such a big stage made them start to worry a little.

“They won’t cry, will they…?”

“They’ll be fine.”

Yoon Young-hoon and Shin Ji-eun said that as they entered the competition venue.

“I’ll go to the desk and get some explanation.”

“Go ahead.”

Yoon Young-hoon and Choi Man-bok began observing people from a corner of the gymnasium.

There were people who came to watch the stage, and many families who came to cheer.

It was literally a sea of people.

“There are a lot of people.”

“You’re right. Now that we’re inside, it seems like it’s gotten a bit bigger than in the past.”

Yoon Young-hoon thought while reconsidering the information he had recently looked into.

From what he had personally researched, the Baek Music Competition had changed from the past.

In the past, it was nothing more or less than an ordinary music competition.

‘But the image changed over the course of a few years.’

When people in the music industry hear the word ‘Baek-eun’, nine times out of ten they would say this.

That it’s a competition that costs a lot of money.

And the Baek Music Competition was older than expected.

The first competition was held in the 80s.

“What was the atmosphere of the competition like in your time, sir?”

Yoon Young-hoon asked Choi Man-bok with a smile.

But Choi Man-bok’s gaze was directed elsewhere.

“Sir…?”

Yoon Young-hoon’s gaze also turned.

Both men’s gazes reached one spot, and at the end of it.

“The Snake-like Young Man…?”

That figure from the past was standing there.

Though time had certainly passed, for some reason that person from the past who hadn’t aged at all was there.

Still standing there.

The figure at the end of their gaze also looked at the two men.

And took a step forward.

It was certainly an ordinary step, but it seemed incredibly slow.

Step by step.

As he approached, Choi Man-bok’s breathing began to quicken.

Ten seconds that felt like a year passed.

“Nice to see you, Man-bok. It’s been a long time.”

It was a chilling and gloomy voice.

It cracked like a voice with something sticky clumped together.

Choi Man-bok was speechless.

Only fear lingered in his eyes.

Still, he had to respond, so he swallowed and spoke.

“Yes, it’s been a long time… You look the same.”

“Thank you. I’ve been receiving intensive care. I was worried you might not answer, but fortunately you did.”

“What brings you here?”

“There’s no reason I can’t come to a competition I sponsor.”

“Sponsor?”

At his words, Choi Man-bok’s expression turned uncomfortable.

In a way, he too was someone who had received sponsorship from The Man.

And since he had experienced a bad ending, he could feel anxiety swelling in his chest.

Choi Man-bok’s voice began to tremble with fear.

“Who are you… sponsoring? Surely not the children?”

“Well, that’s not entirely wrong either. But it would be more accurate to say I sponsor this competition itself.”

“You came as an official…?”

“Today, rather than as an official, I came to see if there are any gems to be found.”

“…So, did you find any?”

“The performances haven’t even started yet, Man-bok.”

“But I can hear the piano clearly?”

“I’m not interested in adult performances. Ah, except for yours and the other gentleman’s performances.”

The more Choi Man-bok conversed, the more he felt his blood running cold.

No matter what he said, the feeling that he would lose wouldn’t go away.

Even though Choi Man-bok opened his mouth to say something, no sound came out.

Then Yoon Young-hoon, who had been watching from the side, stepped forward.

“Excuse me…!”

“Nice to meet you, Young-hoon.”

“How do you know my name…!”

“I memorize most names of people in the industry. I was impressed by the song you released a few years ago.”

But Yoon Young-hoon was also at a loss.

The Snake-like Young Man had instantly seized control of the conversation.

Seeing Yoon Young-hoon stunned and speechless, The Man continued speaking.

“Ah, please tell Su-jin that I enjoyed her recent song.”

“…What?”

“I mean Hwang Su-jin. You’re close with her, right? Please tell her I enjoyed the song she submitted to the contest.”

“How do you know that…!”

“It’s normal. I listen to almost all songs that come into the company.”

The more Yoon Young-hoon continued the conversation, the more dizzy he felt.

He wanted to know how The Man had figured out even his private relationships.

But looking at his face, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

The more he continued the conversation, the more it seemed like The Man would find his weaknesses and bite down hard.

“I really wanted to tell you this.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Young-hoon’s songs and Su-jin’s songs are definitely different, right? In terms of how they feel when you listen to them.”

“…So?”

“But in the song she submitted to this contest, just for a moment, one note seemed to feel similar. It must be a coincidence, right?”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell between the two men.

The Man was still smiling like a snake.

The more he looked at that smile, the more his head ached.

Yoon Young-hoon felt dizzy from the strange atmosphere emanating from The Man standing before him.

“It’s a co-coincidence.”

“Right? After all, so many songs have been released, it could be a coincidence.”

The Man said this while looking at the luxury watch on his wrist.

In that brief moment, the two men could catch their breath.

After checking the time, The Man spoke.

“The preschool competition will start in 10 minutes.”

“…Thanks for letting us know. We’ll be going now.”

“Hanseol Preschool has many talented children.”

At those words, Yoon Young-hoon and Choi Man-bok froze.

Their skin stung as if they had been thrown naked into the middle of winter.

Even after the snake-like man turned around, the cold air seemed to linger.

“I look forward to it.”

The Snake-like Young Man left only those words and departed.

Both men simultaneously exhaled the breath they had been holding.

Many thoughts swirled in the minds of the two men who were gasping for air.

A little later, Shin Ji-eun, who had gone to the desk, returned.

She looked at the two men who were breaking out in cold sweat and asked curiously.

“Why are you sweating so much? Let’s go for now, the preschool division is starting soon.”

“…Right.”

“Ye-eun and Sang-jin arrived too. Let’s hurry. Please go in, sir!”

“Yes, we should go in…”

As soon as her voice ended, an announcement was echoing.

It was saying that the preschool competition would start soon.

Throughout the time heading to their seats.

‘The children will be okay, right?’

That thought wouldn’t leave Yoon Young-hoon’s mind.

And it was the same for Choi Man-bok.

***

My head was troubled.

It might be a coincidence, but I felt like I was facing shadows from the past.

I shook my head vigorously and pulled myself together.

“I’m nervous…!”

We had already entered the green room.

It would be Hanseol Preschool’s turn soon.

Let’s not think about other distractions and focus entirely on the stage for now.

“Hanseol Preschool, please get ready!”

Right on cue, we heard them calling our name.

The principal and Jeong Mi-rae were clearly nervous too, but I could see they were trying not to show it.

“Let’s do our best, kids.”

I quietly said to the children.

After hearing my words, the children replied.

“Okay.”

“We’re going to get first place!”

“Fighting…!”

With that, we left the green room.

After moving a little, it was another series of waiting.

It seemed like we would be going in one by one from here.

“…Children! We’re going in!”

It looks like the stage performance has already started.

Hanseol Preschool’s turn seemed to be a little later.

Right now, children participating individually without any affiliation were performing on stage.

The first child to perform didn’t look well.

And so the child went up on stage.

“Waaahhhhh!!”

The child burst into tears without even starting to perform.

Everyone who was waiting began to look uncomfortable.

That included me as well.

Damn it.

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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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