The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 2

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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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My heart was beating like crazy. My legs were stuck to the ground and wouldn’t move.

Mun Ah-rin was leaning against the doorway, smiling leisurely.

“…Why.”

Even to my own ears, my voice sounded terrible. I barely managed to open my mouth.

“Why did you do it?”

Mun Ah-rin lightly shrugged her shoulders. Her attitude seemed to say ‘So what?’

I continued speaking.

“This. This is my song.”

“…”

“It’s not just this! This one too, and this one too! They’re all my songs…!”

My voice cracked harshly.

I had rarely spoken at length since losing my hearing. But this time, I couldn’t hold back.

“And this medicine. Ever since you gave it to me claiming it was nutritional supplements, my hearing gradually started failing!”

I grabbed the pill bottle and threw it.

Whoosh!

Mun Ah-rin easily dodged the pill bottle with just a slight tilt of her head.

“Am I wrong? Say something!”

Mun Ah-rin slowly raised her head. I expected her to immediately apologize for wronging me, or at least make excuses claiming it was a misunderstanding.

However, instead of apologizing, Mun Ah-rin chuckled. Her grinning mouth was clearly visible.

“What did I expect.”

“…What?”

“Seol. Please try to be more perceptive. Though you’ve been like this since we were kids.”

She spoke casually while fiddling with her fingernails, as if it was no big deal.

“So? What are you going to do about it. What do you want?”

“…Is that all? After making me deaf and stealing my songs!”

“So I fed you, clothed you, and gave you a place to sleep. Out of basic conscience.”

Her face giggling mischievously looked unfamiliar.

Was this really the Mun Ah-rin I knew? Or was this someone else with a similar face?

Such absurd thoughts crossed my mind.

“Seol. What’s wrong with you.”

But the corners of her mouth curling up slightly proved this was reality.

“It’s me, Ah-rin. Mun Ah-rin, your one and only friend. What’s the big deal about a few songs.”

Her tone was shameless.

“What can you do about it now. Can you survive without me? When you can’t even hear. How are you going to make a living.”

“…”

“Oh, as a composer? Songs don’t just sell themselves by sitting there. No matter how good your songs are, if you try to sell them, none of them will sell, right? Who would trust you enough to buy your songs.”

Baseless criticism continued nonchalantly.

Before, I might have wavered thinking ‘Is that so?’ But now I finally realized it was all nonsense.

I hid my trembling hands behind my back and said.

“…I’m going to reveal everything. That they were my songs.”

“Do you have proof?”

“I do. My laptop.”

It contained all the work dates and creation logs. They would predate any of Mun Ah-rin’s work records.

“I’m going to give it to reporters. I’ll expose everything!”

At that moment, Mun Ah-rin’s eyes changed.

Like a wolf with its hackles raised, her gaze was aggressive as if she would bite and tear at any moment.

“Do whatever you want. Anyway, the copyright registration for all those songs is already complete, so nothing much will change.”

“You…!”

“And Seol.”

Two steps.

When Mun Ah-rin strode closer, we stood face to face.

Her smile disappeared and her expression hardened. I had never seen Mun Ah-rin’s face like this before.

“Your current life isn’t bad, is it? Right? You just write songs, and I handle all the troublesome external activities. It’s a kind of division of labor.”

Grip, Mun Ah-rin grabbed my wrist.

“Let go of this!”

“We’ve been doing fine until now.”

“I said let go!”

“What are you dissatisfied with?”

No matter how much I struggled, it wouldn’t come loose.

Pushing, grabbing, our bodies collided roughly with each other.

Before we knew it, we were gasping for breath while grappling.

“Let, go!”

When Mun Ah-rin shook off my hand, I thought ‘Finally.’

But as soon as I faced her chilling expressionless face, I realized I had flipped another bad card.

Thud.

She pushed my shoulder.

I tumbled backward just like that.

Crash!

There was a musty smell of dust.

“Ugh!”

When I barely managed to open my eyes, the backlighting obscured Mun Ah-rin’s face. Only then did I realize where I was.

It was the basement used as a storage room.

I felt my head getting wet and sticky. It seemed to be bleeding. The impact made my vision blurry and dizzy.

“W-wait a minute.”

But even through my hazy vision, I could tell Mun Ah-rin was approaching me.

I staggered backward.

“Ah-rin. Mun Ah-rin!”

I saw the golf club gripped in her hand.

A chilling sensation ran down my spine.

“See. Why did you do that, Seol. We were getting along so well until now.”

Mun Ah-rin blamed me with a bright smile. The gleam in her eyes gave me chills.

“Are you trying to kill me? Really?”

“Hmm. I thought about it a bit. It seems like it would be fine.”

Mun Ah-rin still had the same face as usual.

“You still have many songs left that you’ve composed. Even if I retire right now, it’s enough to live off for a lifetime.”

“The police will find you!”

“I don’t think so?”

Mun Ah-rin burst into laughter.

“As if you have family. Or friends you keep in touch with? Even if you die, no one will know. How would the police find me~”

I was at a loss for words.

“Even if someone notices something strange, it’ll just end with a missing person report, right? No body, no case, as they say.”

Mun Ah-rin’s basement was a space known only to her and me.

Unless there was clear evidence, no search warrant would be issued. And Mun Ah-rin would never voluntarily open the door to this place.

At that moment, I had a premonition of the distant future.

My appearance with only white bones remaining after rats and insects had eaten away my flesh.

That couldn’t happen.

“P-please spare me. Ah-rin. Please…”

I flailed my hands while pleading.

Mun Ah-rin curled up the corners of her mouth in a wide grin.

“You just need to keep your mouth shut.”

“Ah, Ah-rin.”

“Then no one will know.”

“Please! Please don’t do this. Not like this…!”

But before my final plea could even finish,

Thud!

A heavy impact struck my head.

My vision shattered into pieces, then turned completely black.

The smell of blood mixed with the cold underground air.

And then,

even the pain finally faded away.

The things that had tormented me so terribly were now leaving me behind.

My body grew heavy, my breathing shallow.

Without even being able to close my eyes,

I drew my last breath.

***

[ SYSTEM : ALERT! ]

> Abnormal death detected! Investigating cause

> Target : Seol

> Cause of death : Under investigation

[ SYSTEM : WARNING ]

> ‘Downfall by Betrayal’ ending – Does not match scheduled ending

> Error code : #BTR-FAIL-041

[ SYSTEM : NOTICE ]

> Recovering from error…

> Synchronization complete!

[ SYSTEM : ERROR ]

> Abnormal termination : Not the scheduled time of death

> Restarting backup file

> Regression point : 10 years ago

***

I slowly lifted my eyelids.

Intense light pierced into my eyes.

For a moment, I frowned like someone seeing sunlight for the first time in years.

I blinked twice, three times.

The surrounding scenery came into focus.

Warm sunlight poured through the large windows. A cool breeze brushed my cheek and the smell of the heater tickled my nose.

‘Where… is this?’

I soon realized. It was the cafe I used to frequent during my college days. The place where Mun Ah-rin worked part-time.

Right. Mun Ah-rin.

The memory struck me like lightning.

The struggle. The fall. The cold basement. Even the dull pain that had struck my head.

In my final moments, only one thing filled my mind.

The desire for revenge against Mun Ah-rin.

The hatred toward that traitor who had mocked me all this time, stolen my songs and honor, and ultimately took my life.

But if I was already dead, how could I get my revenge? Was this really the end?

‘Is this… the afterlife? Or a life flashing before my eyes?’

Why this cafe of all places? I hadn’t been here once since dropping out.

When I looked down, I saw my phone.

“Wow.”

It was ridiculously clunky. I reflexively grabbed it, and the screen flashed showing the date and time.

“Huh?”

My breath caught.

That was because it showed a year from 10 years ago.

“What the hell is this?”

It was bizarre.

That’s when it happened.

“Ah!”

I clutched my ears and hunched over.

The sound of coffee cups clinking, the cafe’s music, people chattering and laughing.

Everything pierced clearly into my ears.

‘I can hear sounds.’

The senses that had been blurry in my memory were now overwhelming me. They were excessively clear.

And then, glowing text appeared in the air.

[ SYSTEM : NOTICE ]

> Emergency regression procedure complete!

> Target : Seol

> Error code : #BTR-FAIL-041

…What the hell is this now?

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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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