A Musical Genius Who Plays Memories - Chapter 92

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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 92. New Future (5)

“I will bring you down. No matter what it takes.”

My voice trembled.

The reason I was angry was very simple.

‘Because I don’t want to see someone being used like I was in the past.’

Sa Hye-jun’s talent was outstanding.

That was certain.

Sa Hye-jun had better skills than any child I had seen so far.

And Sasinhyeok would somehow drive that Sa Hye-jun relentlessly.

It would definitely not be an easy fight.

‘This isn’t the child’s problem.’

It was the problem of the man looking at me with a smile.

The root cause of everything was ultimately because of that person.

“What’s your reason for doing this?”

“My reason? My reason…”

Sasinhyeok said while stroking his chin.

I was curious too.

Whatever the child was like, whatever his desires were.

Even excluding everything else, the reason he wanted to take me away.

I absolutely had to know that fundamental reason.

Only then could I understand Sasinhyeok’s thoughts and think about how to act.

“Well. I don’t want to tell you that.”

Sasinhyeok said that and smiled wickedly.

Whether he was mocking me or not, his reaction was truly irritating.

It was a smile I didn’t want to deal with.

“Then, returning to the main point… I’ll make you a proposal, Hee-seong.”

“A proposal…?”

“It’s very simple. From now on, I won’t touch you, Hee-seong.”

“Does that mean you won’t interfere with whatever I do?”

“That’s right. But in return, don’t participate in any competitions in the country from now on.”

It wasn’t such a bad proposal for me.

Rather, it was good.

If he didn’t interfere with me, my composing life would become easier.

But why do I feel so uneasy about this?

“Ah, I’ll also stop investigating Yoon Young-hoon, Hwang Su-jin, and Man-bok. I’ll withdraw my interest from you, Hee-seong.”

“What’s your reason for going that far?”

“The reason is nothing special. Hye-jun can’t beat you as you are now.”

“…Excuse me?”

I struggled to understand what he meant.

But Sasinhyeok didn’t give me time to understand.

“As I said, you’re quite a big shock to Hye-jun. That’s why it’s best to meet later.”

“…”

“I’m going to teach the child composition.”

“What…?”

Sasinhyeok began spouting incomprehensible words.

I was starting to become scared from the confusion.

I couldn’t follow what Sasinhyeok was saying at all.

‘Composition? Why? Why on earth?’

He could teach composition.

But I couldn’t understand the reason at all.

“Why composition exactly…?”

“I can’t tell you that. However.”

His eyes flashed.

It was a cool blue light like moonlight setting at dawn.

I unconsciously swallowed at that gaze.

“I’ll tell you later. On the world’s biggest stage.”

“The world’s biggest stage…?”

“I experienced failure there. Now it’s like challenging it again.”

“You’re saying you’ll use a young child for that challenge?”

“Use, you say.”

His voice was utterly despicable.

The way he chuckled seemed to mock me, and anger was gradually rising.

But I couldn’t get angry at him.

Unfortunately.

“I’m just working hard for the child’s dream.”

“…Ha.”

“They say the youngest age to go on that stage is 13 years old.”

He seemed to be planning to put Sa Hye-jun on that stage.

Sasinhyeok’s goal was to get on the world’s greatest stage.

But he failed.

Using Sa Hye-jun as a substitute was his purpose.

‘This crazy bastard…!’

I clenched my fists tightly.

But the man standing in front of me didn’t care whether I was angry or not.

He just said what he wanted to say.

“And the opportunity to get on that stage is to win a competition that happens only once a year.”

“A competition…?”

“Yes. I’ll have the child perform a piece he composed himself at that competition. And he’ll take the victory.”

“Why are you so confident? On what grounds exactly?”

“Well…”

Sasinhyeok’s atmosphere changed.

The expression that had been smiling brightly until now hardened instantly.

It was like facing a venomous snake.

It felt like he could bite and kill my throat in an instant.

“Because I’ll make it happen.”

It was coercion.

Sasinhyeok was planning to make that young child win by any means necessary.

Whether through brutal training or by beating knowledge into him forcibly.

He would use any method.

“So, Hee-seong?”

“Yes?”

“Make sure to participate in the competition. In 8 years. If you don’t participate…”

Sasinhyeok trailed off.

He gave off such a different atmosphere that I wondered if he was the same person I’d been talking to.

The atmosphere was so chillingly cold that I momentarily couldn’t move my body.

“I hope that won’t happen. If it does, I’m curious what might happen to me too.”

“…”

“Let’s end the meeting here.”

“…”

“It was a pleasant conversation. Heeseong. Well then…”

Sasinhyeok slowly passed by me.

And slowly opening the door, he said.

“Let’s meet in 8 years.”

He would disappear from my life during that time.

But the conversation we just had would continue to remain in my head.

That’s why I wanted to ask him one last thing.

“The piece that Sa Hye-jun performed on stage.”

“Yes?”

“Did you compose it?”

I looked straight into his eyes.

That arrogant gaze that seemed to look down on me.

I didn’t avoid those eyes but rather looked straight back at them.

Sasinhyeok smiled wickedly as usual and said.

“Yes.”

His answer came without a moment’s hesitation.

A voice full of confidence telling a lie.

“I see. I understand.”

“I hope you’ll do your best during this time.”

“I don’t need the winner’s benefits, so please give them to another child.”

“Haha. You’re going to work hard on your own. I understand. I’ll do as you wish.”

I left the room without looking back.

Thus, the chilling and terrible interview came to an end.

***

On the way home.

I was still sitting in the principal’s car.

‘I don’t want to tell Father and Aunt about this…’

Thinking about how to explain my conversation with Sasinhyeok without shocking them both was endless.

A person who abused power and acted unreasonably – just a creepy person.

Could I do anything against such a person?

‘Hah… I’m really going to lose my mind.’

It really was a series of difficult situations.

Whatever the case, there seemed to be nothing I could do, and I was powerless to just sit still in this reality.

That’s why I had to move.

If I just stayed still like this, I would be defeated by him.

‘I need to look into competitions. What competition Sasinhyeok mentioned, and what the world’s biggest stage is.’

My peaceful daily life had crumbled.

Now I had no choice but to protect my daily life.

‘Can I do that with composition alone?’

As Aunt said, I needed to build strength.

To do that, many people had to listen to my music.

And for people who listened to my music to naturally remember Argo, Aunt Sujin and Uncle Sooyeol’s company.

For the company to gradually grow and recruit talent that way.

That was my current plan.

‘Then, I need to look at myself first.’

I quietly closed my eyes.

To find common points between my past life and current life.

Things I always did without forgetting.

‘Let’s exclude the obvious things first.’

Composition, piano performance.

I excluded music-related things.

I also excluded eating for physiological needs.

Then there wasn’t much left.

‘Sleeping…?’

I didn’t mean just ordinary bedtime.

I was always sleepy.

Both in the past and present.

I was always so sleepy that I had to take naps.

Sometimes I slept in the morning and woke up the next morning.

I was that sleepy.

‘Hmm… Should I try composing with sleep as the theme?’

A good idea came to mind, but it was disappointing that I couldn’t use it anywhere.

I looked around in the back seat for no reason.

If I happened to find paper and pencil, I was thinking of asking the principal and using them.

“Heeseong, what are you looking for?”

“Ah! Well… I was looking to see if there was paper and pencil!”

“We don’t have those… Were you bored? Would you like to listen to some music?”

“Yes!”

I was feeling down, and I happened to want a change of mood.

When the principal touched various things, music soon began to play in the car.

‘Oh? It’s Mozart!’

Symphony No. 40.

It was one of the classical music pieces I quite liked.

Listening quietly, my mind and body would stabilize and I could breathe calmly.

Thanks to that, my head became a little more comfortable.

‘Composition… Composition…’

Thinking of Mozart, the word composition naturally settled in my mind.

A series of words inseparable from me.

I put that short resonance in my mouth.

“Composition…”

The word composition brought many things to mind.

Knowledge and memories gained through composition.

The pain of creation that hurt my body and the desire that kept me moving.

And memories.

Memories.

Countless memories filled my head like a tsunami.

‘Haha…’

There were gaps in between the memories.

It couldn’t be helped.

Humans weren’t perfect beings.

I fell into memories full of flaws.

‘Right… There were times like this too.’

The life of an ordinary composer from the past was longer than Yoon Hee-seong’s memories.

So the memories from the past were also longer.

‘But I can’t keep performing my memories forever.’

How should I put it.

It felt like reusing tissue paper that had already been used?

I described the emotions and scenery from my memories with piano.

That’s why I considered the emotions of that time very important.

Of course, there were times when I composed using as a motif the emotions I felt again through past memories after time had passed.

‘But that wasn’t very good. I don’t know about other things, but I wasn’t satisfied with it myself.’

Well, in the end I was forced to compose because of ‘that person’.

In short, my memories were finite.

Someday they would come to an end…

“Ah, Hee-seong. Want to listen to the radio?”

“Radio? What’s that?”

“Um, well, it’s like TV but you can only hear voices. Want to give it a listen?”

“Yes! I’m curious!”

She touched this and that once again.

Then a ‘crackle!’ sound briefly filled the car before people’s voices started coming through.

– …Hahaha! Ah, that was really a funny story. You made me laugh, so I’ll send you a prize.

It was a male host with a cheerful voice.

As I quietly listened to the person talking, I found myself gradually getting drawn in without realizing it.

It felt like listening to fairy tales that Mother used to tell me when I couldn’t even control my body yet.

It wasn’t a bad feeling.

– Finally, today’s highlight! It’s time to listen to listener stories!

Stories?

I started listening intently.

It was the story of a male high school student who had been harboring unrequited love for a classmate for two years.

‘I can easily listen to other people’s stories like this?’

All I had used my phone for until now was listening to music.

Or watching other people’s performance videos.

That was it.

Well, I wasn’t interested in anything else besides that.

In the time I could have watched TV, I composed or played piano.

That’s how much I lived disconnected from the internet.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m an old-fashioned person… I never thought of this.’

Being able to appreciate others’ performances also meant I could learn about others’ personal stories.

I had been foolishly unaware of this.

‘If it’s this…!’

Perhaps I had thought of a good method.

A very good method to build up strength.

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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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