The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 46
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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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By the time Mun Ah-rin finally stopped crying, the atmosphere had loosened up a bit. With her nose tip flushed red, Mun Ah-rin kept repeating “I’m sorry.”
She seemed embarrassed now about having cried so hard.
When Jeong Tae-seong threw in a light joke or two, the heavy atmosphere disappeared without a trace.
Jeong Tae-seong clapped his hands lightly and summarized the situation.
“Good. Then Se-a, you rest for a while. Ah-rin, think about how you want to handle the arrangement and get feedback from me. Let’s put the session rehearsal on hold for now, and Yun-je and Seol. You two need to get your mid-term evaluation soon too.”
“Yes.”
Since no satisfactory musical ideas had come up, we’d been postponing until Cho Yun-je’s piece took some shape.
From Jeong Tae-seong’s perspective, it was probably time to check on us at least once.
When I nodded, I could see Cho Yun-je’s expression darken slightly.
“Things got complicated somehow. But I’ll do my best to make sure we finish safely.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Jeong Tae-seong scratched the back of his neck, then suddenly chuckled.
“Come to think of it, Ah-rin, your words came true.”
“Pardon?”
Mun Ah-rin asked back, looking startled.
Mun Ah-rin’s shoulders trembled finely, and her hand gripping the handkerchief tensed up. It was such a subtle change that it would be hard to notice unless you were me.
Jeong Tae-seong immediately shook his head.
“No. I said something unnecessary.”
That’s when it happened.
“Guardian, could you come this way for a moment? Regarding the payment…”
“Ah, yes! I’ll be back, so you guys need to stay by Se-a’s side, okay?”
“Yes. We will.”
Jeong Tae-seong followed the hospital employee. Thanks to that, only the students remained around Kang Se-a’s bed.
Kang Se-a looked up at us for a moment, then bluntly said:
“Ah-rin, go wash your face. Your eyes will be really swollen later.”
“Oh, no. I’m fine.”
“What are you talking about. Yun-je, guide her to the restroom. Ah-rin must have been really shocked too.”
Her tone was strangely firm.
Cho Yun-je, though he found Mun Ah-rin disagreeable, followed her words for now.
“Got it. Mun Ah-rin, let’s go. This way.”
“Oh, okay…!”
Mun Ah-rin followed Cho Yun-je out. As the two moved away, only Kang Se-a and I remained.
I watched the two figures walking away, then asked.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“Oh my. What do you mean?”
“It seems like you deliberately separated those two.”
Kang Se-a laughed softly.
“You’re a perceptive junior.”
Well. I think Cho Yun-je and Mun Ah-rin probably noticed to some extent too.
“Did something happen?”
I asked with a hint of anxiety. Wondering if Mun Ah-rin had done something wrong to Kang Se-a.
But the answer that came back was unexpected.
“No. Let’s just say I had bad luck.”
“…”
“There’s no evidence anyway.”
Kang Se-a shrugged.
It was an indirect admission that Mun Ah-rin had indeed done something.
‘As I thought.’
But it seemed Kang Se-a couldn’t move rashly without proper evidence.
You’re thorough as always, Mun Ah-rin.
Before my regression, did you dispose of my dead body just as seamlessly with those skills?
“That said, I can’t give up on the recital like this. It doesn’t feel good being played like this, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Kang Se-a clicked her tongue softly.
“I guess the person who should have been careful wasn’t you, junior, but me.”
“…Senior.”
“That’s why I’m telling you. Don’t get caught like I did.”
Kang Se-a spoke with a slight smile.
I nodded slightly. I could see Mun Ah-rin and Cho Yun-je returning in the distance.
Mun Ah-rin was waving her hands vigorously with a much better expression than before.
“I’m counting on you.”
Kang Se-a murmured in a small voice.
“For this scholarship recital.”
“…Yes.”
I answered that single phrase with multiple meanings.
***
Mun Ah-rin shook off the water from her hands as she came out, looking at Cho Yun-je who was waiting outside.
Even in the middle of the chaotic emergency room, he was drawing people’s attention. His flashy hair color was the first thing, and his handsome features beneath it were the second thing that drew gazes.
At that sight, Mun Ah-rin felt a subtle sense of superiority tickling her heart.
“Yun-je!”
Mun Ah-rin immediately ran to him and linked arms.
The people who had been looking at Cho Yun-je also glanced at Mun Ah-rin. When the two linked arms affectionately, some looked away with disappointment, as if they looked like a loving couple.
“What’s this.”
Cho Yun-je frowned at the sudden physical contact.
But Mun Ah-rin didn’t care and maintained the arm link while lowering her voice to whisper.
“How’s the song preparation with Seol going?”
“…So-so.”
Mun Ah-rin smiled slyly.
“Mm. Originally I was a third party so it was awkward to say anything, but now I’m one of the people organizing the recital too. So don’t misunderstand, just listen to what I’m saying.”
Mun Ah-rin paused as if choosing her words, then continued.
“You see, Seol sometimes doesn’t understand the psychology of people like us, so he unintentionally hurts us.”
Her beaming face held a strange light of resignation.
Mun Ah-rin had no hesitation in referring to Cho Yun-je and herself as “us.”
“I know well since I’ve watched from the side for a long time. He makes expressions like ‘why can’t you do this?’ At first it was hard for me too, but I came to understand since I knew he had no ill intent.”
“…”
“When I heard you two were working together, I worried whether you might misunderstand Seol.”
It sounded like she really cared for and worried about Seol.
Moreover, because he understood too well what Mun Ah-rin’s words meant.
Cho Yun-je momentarily felt a sense of shared suffering as a mediocre person standing next to the genius ‘Seol.’
‘Similar circumstances, is that it.’
Cho Yun-je began to think he might have been too harsh in his thoughts about Mun Ah-rin.
“I never misunderstood.”
“Then that’s a relief. Since the themes connect with birth and death, and it’s a circular structure, it’s perfect for comparing you two. I was wondering if you might be bothered by that~”
“…”
“You know. Seol’s music is so unique and overwhelming. After listening to that piece, you might not even remember other songs.”
Mun Ah-rin narrowed her eyes and looked straight at Cho Yun-je.
“You’d better keep your wits about you. If you don’t want to be devoured.”
Those words sounded exactly like this:
If you keep relying on Seol to write music forever, you’ll end up overshadowed by Seol.
That’s right.
Just like how Cho Yun-je had always lived in the shadow of his mother, Oh Su-yeon.
‘…Am I just moving from my mother’s shadow to Seol’s shadow?’
Such faint doubt welled up in Cho Yun-je’s heart.
Around that time, Mun Ah-rin waved vigorously at Seol and Kang Se-a, who were visible in the distance.
“Se-a unnie! Seol!”
Watching Mun Ah-rin’s retreating figure as she ran off, Cho Yun-je was caught up in a strange sense of unease.
Just moments ago, ‘we’ had meant Seol and himself to Cho Yun-je. But now suddenly ‘we’ had become Mun Ah-rin and himself.
As silent allies facing their common enemy, Seol.
‘…Let’s not think unnecessary thoughts. Completing the song is the priority right now. I said I wanted to gain my mother’s recognition.’
Cho Yun-je pulled himself together, deciding to focus on the immediate goal before him.
Right now, he needed Seol’s help. In fact, the quality of his song was improving while receiving Seol’s training.
He gained quite a bit of inspiration from the casual words Seol would drop. Sometimes Seol would suggest directions he’d never even thought of.
But then, would that really be his own song?
When Seol’s influence was this strong.
‘I told myself not to think unnecessary thoughts!’
He tried to scold himself, but he couldn’t stop the thoughts that had begun to spiral.
‘Even if I gain recognition this way, wouldn’t it be Seol who’s really being recognized, not me? Then what does that make me?’
Cho Yun-je gritted his teeth.
Mun Ah-rin’s voice suddenly flashed through his mind.
-You’d better get your head straight. If you don’t want to be devoured.
Cho Yun-je shook his head, trying to shake off that sentiment, but it was already too late.
Like a thorn embedded in his palm, that unpleasant feeling didn’t seem like it would disappear easily.
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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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