The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 13

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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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“Perfect timing.”

I held up my phone.

“Want to check together? It looks like the results are out.”

Mun Ah-rin hesitated for a moment.

“…Now?”

“Yeah. I’m nervous about checking alone.”

“Alright. But even if you don’t get the results you want, don’t be too upset.”

She forced a smile, but her eyes betrayed her wavering emotions.

We put the phone between us and leaned our heads together. When I pressed the message, there was a link telling us to check the results through the official website.

After entering the link, I input my exam number.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Just as I was about to press the confirm button.

Buzz-.

A call came in from an unknown number.

The tension suddenly dissipated.

“Ugh. Who is it, such bad timing!”

Mun Ah-rin playfully scolded. Since there was no saved name, it didn’t seem to be someone I knew.

“Are you going to answer?”

“…Yeah. I should.”

I accepted the call and spoke into the phone.

“Hello?”

-Is this Seol’s number?

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The voice sounded familiar from somewhere. As I tilted my head in confusion, the other person revealed their identity first.

-This is Professor Baek Ga-hee. We met at the exam hall. You remember, right?

“…!”

Mun Ah-rin also looked startled, apparently having heard the voice.

-Seol?

“Ah, yes. Professor. I remember.”

-First, let me apologize for what happened that day. I was too hasty.

It was a short and concise apology. But it didn’t feel forced.

It was simply matter-of-fact, an attitude that she had made a mistake and was showing proper courtesy for it. Cold, but not arrogant.

-The exam results came out today. You’ve checked them, right?

“No, not yet. I was just about to check them.”

-You don’t need to. You’ll have passed anyway.

Of course, I thought so too. But even so, Baek Ga-hee’s voice was overly confident.

Even though she wouldn’t know the scores for the other exams besides the original composition.

-Unless they have no ears, there’s no way they’d fail a student who played such a piece.

It was the highest praise possible.

As I lost my words and just gaped, Baek Ga-hee casually brought up the next topic.

-I was worried you might avoid my classes because of what happened that day, so I contacted you.

“I had no such intention.”

-That’s a relief then. I’m looking forward to having you in my class, Seol.

The voice through the receiver was firm yet strangely gentle.

-Well then, I’ll see you next semester.

Click.

The call ended before I could even say goodbye. I felt like I’d been swept up in a sudden storm.

I was dumbfounded by how quickly it all happened.

An oblivious system window interrupted in the middle.

[ SYSTEM – MAIN QUEST ]

> ‘Transfer to Korea University Composition Department’ Complete!

> Reward: Inspiration Acquired (B)

‘I’ll check this later.’

When I looked up, Mun Ah-rin was staring at me intently.

Her round eyes held a mixture of shock, disbelief, and an unfathomable sense of inferiority.

“That was… really Professor Baek Ga-hee?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

“That professor called you directly? Why?”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“You heard it too.”

“…”

“I guess she thinks well of me.”

Mun Ah-rin’s lips quivered. A brief silence passed. Her barely concealed feelings suddenly burst out.

“What on earth did you do at the exam hall? For that professor to contact you directly.”

Her tone seemed to blame me.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Nothing particularly memorable happened. I don’t know what it’s about either.”

Mun Ah-rin’s fingertips trembled.

‘Now, what are you going to do.’

I quietly observed Mun Ah-rin. I wanted to see how she would act in this unexpected situation.

However, when Mun Ah-rin raised her head again, her expression had completely changed.

“Wow~. Our Seol is the best! As expected of my friend, right?”

Mun Ah-rin linked arms with me and acted cute.

Smiling brightly, as if everything was perfectly fine.

“I told you many times that Professor Baek Ga-hee is super strict, right? There are lots of kids who come out crying after getting lessons from her.”

I was flustered by the sudden change but nodded reflexively.

“But she must have recognized your talent, Seol! This is the first time I’ve seen her contact someone directly to recommend they take her class.”

Her bustling excitement and sparkling eyes made her look exactly like a friend celebrating her friend’s acceptance.

Right after hearing the acceptance news, her eyes had briefly clouded with jealousy, but had she finally come to her senses?

Or was that earlier moment real, and this current display fake?

‘Which one is your true feeling?’

As I stared at her, Mun Ah-rin smiled brightly and continued chattering.

“Oh right. Let’s register for classes together! It’ll be fun taking classes with you, Seol~.”

“Mm-hmm. Let’s do that.”

“Great. Promise!”

She even hooked pinkies with me, emphasizing that we should have the same schedule.

“It’ll be easier to adjust if we go together. I’ll take good care of you.”

As she said this, Mun Ah-rin’s eyes weren’t smiling at all.

I could finally give a definitive answer to the question I’d been confused about.

Those seemingly caring words contained no sincerity whatsoever.

‘Are you trying to isolate me again and manipulate me as you please?’

I could now clearly see her true intentions. In high school, and in university too. The reason Mun Ah-rin was my only friend.

Before, I simply thought it was because I wasn’t friendly enough, because I lacked social skills.

But now I felt like I knew the real reason.

‘It was you. Mun Ah-rin.’

Whenever I showed signs of getting close to someone, she would subtly interfere and sabotage it, and if there was ever a group project, she would somehow insert herself and act like she was my spokesperson.

To others, Mun Ah-rin probably looked like a kind girl taking care of the outcast me, but those very actions often made me more isolated from others.

‘This time, I won’t let things go your way.’

I forced my stiffly hardened lips to curl upward.

“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”

Mun Ah-rin smiled as if satisfied.

It was a perfect case of mutual misunderstanding.

***

Click.

As the door closed, silence filled the room. When Mun Ah-rin hurriedly left saying she was late for her part-time job, I could finally breathe a little easier.

“Phew.”

As I let out a deep sigh, Nuri approached and rubbed against my head.

Meow-.

“Yeah. Nuri.”

When I crouched down to meet her eye level, Nuri purred contentedly and blinked happily.

That’s when it happened.

[ SYSTEM – V1.0 ]

> User’s emotional fluctuation has exceeded the threshold!

> Would you like to use Inspiration Acquisition (B)?

> [ YES / NO ]

A flashing window blocked my view.

‘Right. Come to think of it…’

I pressed ‘Inspiration Acquisition (B)’ with my hand.

[ SYSTEM – V1.0 ]

> Inspiration Acquisition (B): You can gain inspiration from the user’s emotional state or external stimuli.

‘Should I give it a try?’

Curiosity arose and I pressed ‘YES’.

That’s when it happened.

I felt something like sparks suddenly flying inside me.

And immediately, Mun Ah-rin’s face came to mind.

Her forced smile at the corners of her mouth. Those eyes layered with suspicion and jealousy.

In that moment, I heard a creaking sound like metal twisting in my head.

Along with a feeling like my heart was being squeezed tight, several melodies pierced my mind.

“Gasp!”

I swallowed my breath and clutched my chest.

Nuri seemed to meow softly with worry. But I couldn’t hear anything at all.

Dissonance.

It was a tone that should have been grotesque and grating on the nerves.

The sharp noise like scraping a chalkboard naturally made me frown.

But it was strange.

That dissonance wasn’t just unpleasant, but somehow contained an eerie beauty that sent chills down my spine.

I listened intently, forgetting even to breathe.

‘It’s spine-chilling.’

It was clearly an ugly and negative emotion, yet that was becoming perfect music instead.

‘I need to record this.’

That thought came instinctively.

I grabbed any pen and started frantically scribbling notes on blank sheet music.

My fingertips trembled as they moved automatically.

“…Done.”

When I came to my senses, the crack of emotion had been transferred onto the notebook.

I don’t know how many pages I wrote, but everything around me was a complete mess. In that moment, I had an intuition.

‘…I’ve created something incredible.’

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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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