The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 24

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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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I could feel the people around me looking in my direction. When Mun Ah-rin bit her lips and turned to look at me, she probably thought there was some other circumstance.

But Mun Ah-rin soon smiled awkwardly and answered like this.

“No, Professor. It’s my fault.”

“Huh?”

Jeong Tae-seong tilted his head.

Mun Ah-rin lowered her eyes as if she had some story she couldn’t tell.

“I should have taken better care of things. I’m sorry.”

Look at this?

Her tone was humble and her expression looked like that of a sincere student, but somehow the nuance was strange.

Wasn’t she acting as if I had done something wrong but she was covering for me?

I could feel several students looking back and forth between me and Mun Ah-rin.

“Well, yeah. That can happen. Take better care next time.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Mun Ah-rin bowed her head once more.

‘Amazing, really.’

She didn’t mention anything specific, but that exquisite attitude of subtly giving off the nuance that it was my fault.

It was a situation where people who didn’t know the details could easily misunderstand.

Didn’t it seem like I was the villain bullying Mun Ah-rin?

“Still, it went well. Right? If it had been Professor Baek, he would have scolded us terribly.”

As if nothing had happened, I forced a smile while looking at Mun Ah-rin who was grinning at me.

“That’s right.”

Even as I agreed, a corner of my heart grew coldly distant.

How many times had situations like this occurred? Things that subtly damaged my reputation without me even knowing.

Things I couldn’t see before my regression were now visible one by one.

“Yun-je!”

Then Jeong Tae-seong called Cho Yun-je’s name. A male student sitting in the front row answered.

“Yes.”

If it was Cho Yun-je, it was definitely that kid.

A genius with absolute pitch so sensitive he could be compared to Mozart. The professors adored him so much, it was very natural for Jeong Tae-seong to call on Cho Yun-je.

“Come out and show us a demonstration.”

At those words, Cho Yun-je got up from his seat and headed forward.

His bleached yellow hair tied in a ponytail, tall height and slender build caught my eye first.

The face that followed was so soft-featured that it was hard to tell if he was male or female. His slightly upturned cat-like eyes were impressive.

When he sat in front of the piano, he looked like a painting.

‘With such striking looks and genius talent, why had I never heard his name in the industry before my regression?’

Maybe he went into classical music instead of practical music and studied abroad. Even so, I should have at least heard his name.

While I was puzzled, Cho Yun-je received sheet music from Jeong Tae-seong.

It seemed to be the songs submitted as assignments this time.

“First, let’s start with the basic song. Begin.”

As soon as Jeong Tae-seong finished speaking, Cho Yun-je pressed the piano keys.

-♩♪♩♬

His touch on the piano was good. Thanks to that, clean and clear notes resonated.

His skill was quite impressive.

“Now, the first one.”

A soft, lyrical ballad-style arrangement followed. The gentle chord progression and stable harmony warmly embraced the ears.

“Second one.”

The sophisticated musical idea sounded just like jazz. The basic framework was the same, but the atmosphere was distinctly different.

Students let out small exclamations of “Wow.”

The third emphasized strong rhythm to give a rock-like feeling, and the fourth stacked harmonies to make it grand.

How could he arrange the same melody into such different atmospheres? It seemed to show a textbook example.

Clap clap clap clap!

When the performance ended, students applauded. The lecture hall seemed to have become Cho Yun-je’s performance hall for a moment.

“It can sound so different.”

“It’s Cho Yun-je after all.”

“It really is different.”

As the students’ murmuring died down, Jeong Tae-seong also nodded greatly.

“Did you all hear that? Four themes are clear, and the harmony application is flawless. You could call it a very exemplary case.”

Exemplary, textbook.

That was exactly the problem.

‘It sounds clichéd.’

While all four versions were different, I couldn’t deny that they sounded like songs I’d heard somewhere before.

Jazz if jazz, rock if rock. He presented the most safe answer within each genre’s framework.

‘Pleasant to listen to and good, but not fresh.’

Something too perfect tends to be monotonous instead.

It lacked personality and the emotional line was shallow. It was far from enough to make the listener’s heart tremble.

I could tell as soon as I heard the performance.

Why Cho Yun-je couldn’t come out into the world and remained only a genius within this school.

‘Because the world wants songs with powerful resonance, even if imperfect, more than textbook melodies.’

Imitation is always the mother of creation.

Unless he breaks that framework someday and creates his own style. Unless he abandons that obsessive perfectionism, his progress will be minimal.

“Thank you, Yun-je. You can go back now.”

Cho Yun-je bowed and returned to his seat.

He seemed accustomed to receiving attention from many people. And despite the pouring praise, he somehow had a sullen expression.

As if he didn’t like his own song but was barely enduring it.

“This is how you should do the assignment. Huh? Looking at everyone, you just change the chord progression a little and insist it’s a different song. That’s not it, right?”

“Please go easy on us~.”

“We really had a lot of assignments this week.”

Students close to Jeong Tae-seong playfully whined.

“Let’s see. Is there anyone else worth calling on?”

Jeong Tae-seong shuffled through the sheet music. Then he stopped at one piece.

“Oh my…”

He let out a small exclamation, then smiled broadly.

“This is interesting.”

Then his eyes sparkled as he quickly scanned the lecture hall.

When our eyes met among the students, he smiled widely, crinkling his eyes.

“Seol.”

Suddenly my name was called.

Sharp gazes pierced me. Especially Mun Ah-rin’s sitting next to me was the most intense.

“Want to come out?”

“…Yes.”

When I sat in front of the piano, the songs I had composed were placed in order.

“First, the basic song.”

-♩♪♩♬

I played the song I had looked at countless times while arranging. The tone flowing through my fingertips was quite beautiful.

“Now the first arrangement.”

Simple chord progression, a melody with lots of space flowed out.

That space made the song more profound and served to draw up the listener’s emotions.

“Second one.”

The atmosphere changed completely. The harmony was cleverly twisted to create an unstable yet captivating atmosphere.

It was the characteristic tone used in 【Mercury】 and 【Fracture】.

“Third.”

This time I pushed and pulled the rhythm slightly. As my left hand pressed down heavily, my right hand bounced up lightly.

The textbook harmony wavered, but the melody stacked on top bounced freely and playfully.

“Last one.”

I boldly shattered the framework.

I built up severely distorted chords and forbidden harmonies, progressing illogically.

But the more complex it became, the more the simple melody shone.

I finished the piece by transparently unraveling the original theme.

-♪….

Even after pressing the final key, the lecture hall remained frozen in silence.

When I raised my head, I saw students with their eyes wide open. They were all staring at me with their mouths agape, as if they didn’t know what to say.

‘Was it too aggressive?’

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I could only scratch the back of my neck. It didn’t seem like an assignment that fit a harmony class.

‘I did put extra effort into standing out because of the Sub Quest.’

Maybe it was a mistake. Should I have gone with a more orthodox approach? Just as I was having these thoughts,

A Quest window appeared before my eyes.

[ SYSTEM – SUB QUEST ]

> ‘Complete your first assignment safely’ Complete!

> Reward: Reputation increase – ‘Better than expected?’ (The professor and classmates’ perception becomes one level more favorable.)

[ SYSTEM – V1.0 ]

> Congratulations!

> You have exceeded the Quest requirements and earned additional rewards.

> Additional rewards:

– Sharp increase in interest from professor and students

– Professor Jeong Tae-seong’s interest +1

– New connection event probability +10%

‘Exceeded the requirements?’

At that moment,

Clap clap clap clap clap!

Thunderous applause poured out. For a moment, my ears felt muffled.

“Wow, that’s insane.”

“You can do it like that?”

Exclamations and praise followed one after another. The students were all looking at me with sparkling eyes.

Bewildered, I looked at Jeong Tae-seong, and he was smiling brightly.

“How about it. Fun, isn’t it.”

My cheeks naturally flushed with heat.

It was such an unfamiliar scene, yet one I had desperately wanted. It was praise I had never received even once before my regression.

Somehow my heart swelled as I surveyed the audience.

Among everyone who was enthusiastic,

Only one person.

Only Mun Ah-rin was staring at me with an expressionless face.

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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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