The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 79

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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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Even after learning about Park Hee-jae’s feelings, I wasn’t particularly surprised.

‘Another victim has appeared.’

Because there were always guys who liked Mun Ah-rin everywhere. That had been a constant since middle school.

Her cute face, friendly personality, and gentle way of speaking always made Mun Ah-rin the school’s idol.

She had striking looks too.

The situation hadn’t changed much even after coming to university.

‘Of course, she never actually dated anyone.’

As far as I knew, just the confessions she received through middle and high school were too many to count even using all fingers and toes.

But Mun Ah-rin’s answer was always the same.

With a troubled smile, ‘Sorry. I’ve never thought of you that way.’

It was such a regular line that I still remembered it, which says it all.

‘But how does she know that freshman?’

Was there any occasion for them to meet? There were several school events at the beginning of the semester where students mingled with freshmen, but I had skipped all of them, so I couldn’t gauge it.

‘I thought Mun Ah-rin didn’t do other club activities because of her part-time job…’

While I wondered about it inwardly, I didn’t think deeply about it.

Because I considered it insignificant.

Unlike me, Mun Ah-rin always had many friends, and it wasn’t unusual for there to be guys who liked that sparkling, radiant girl.

What made me think something was strange was during Professor Jeong Tae-seong’s class not long after that day.

***

“Alright, everyone take your seats~.”

Jeong Tae-seong appeared in the lecture hall with his hearty voice.

The lecture hall quickly became quiet, and everyone sat in their seats looking at Jeong Tae-seong.

“The assignment piece last time was quite difficult, wasn’t it?”

“Yes~!”

“Totally!”

The students shouted in unison.

Jeong Tae-seong was still giving weekly assignments, and what started simple now had quite tricky conditions attached.

‘This assignment’s theme was emotion.’

An original piece around 3 minutes, theme of weighty emotion. Had to compose, arrange, and perform it yourself.

Up to this point wasn’t too difficult, but the problem started from here.

‘At least 2 key changes within one piece, simple parallel thirds and sixths forbidden, must include secondary dominants and subdominant minors…’

Just composing alone was hard enough, but with all these conditions packed together, it was understandable that students would cry out.

“Hey, you all did well! Don’t exaggerate~. You know finals are coming soon, right? Once exams are over it’s the end of semester, so you can play all you want then, but during the semester you need to study hard!”

“Ugh.”

“Yes.”

“Since the conditions were tricky, many of you got caught up in meeting the conditions and missed the basics. Especially the theme! Don’t forget that the core of the assignment piece lies in the theme.”

I could feel the students asking with their eyes, ‘Who doesn’t know that?’

Easy to say. Where was it easy to compose while maintaining good thematic awareness and fitting perfectly into various conditions?

“In that spirit, shall we listen to today’s best assignment piece before starting class?”

Jeong Tae-seong grinned mischievously.

This was now a familiar routine. Jeong Tae-seong selected the best piece worth showing to students from each week’s assignments and had them perform it in front of all students at the start of class.

‘So far it’s mostly been either Cho Yun-je or me.’

It was almost half and half, to the point where some students would bet on who would perform today.

“The unstable emotions were expressed very artistically. I was quite impressed listening to it.”

Jeong Tae-seong looked toward me with a bright smile.

Was it my turn this time?

“Ah, damn. It was him last week, so I thought it would be Cho Yun-je today.”

“You’re buying lunch today.”

“Let’s do it again next week.”

I could hear students whispering behind me. Just as I pushed my chair back slightly to prepare to stand up.

Scrape.

“Student Mun Ah-rin!”

Jeong Tae-seong suddenly called Mun Ah-rin’s name. His gaze was still directed this way.

More precisely,

To Mun Ah-rin next to me.

“…?”

“M-me?”

Mun Ah-rin widened her eyes and asked back.

“That’s right! Come up quickly and perform.”

“Oh, um. Yes!”

Mun Ah-rin hurriedly stood up from her seat. Her flustered state was obvious, and her face turned red as if the pouring gazes were burdensome.

That appearance was utterly adorable.

“What? It’s neither of them?”

“It’s a tie.”

“Mun Ah-rin, isn’t she the one? Who participated in the scholarship concert last time?”

I could feel the students murmuring. I sat quietly in my awkwardly pushed chair.

“Well then. I’ll begin.”

Mun Ah-rin sat in front of the piano.

She adjusted her posture and trembled slightly at her fingertips. Even that subtle tension seemed calculated.

She steadied her breathing, and in the moment she closed and opened her eyes.

She developed the piece with confident hand movements.

-♪♬♩♬~

Dark, cold low notes resonated as if cutting through the floor. It felt like heavy air was covering the lecture hall.

Then suddenly,

A ray of light shone through the darkness.

The transition was so natural that for a moment I could barely recognize it properly.

Only the sensation that the scenery outside the window had changed remained belatedly.

Mun Ah-rin looked down and tightened and loosened the rhythm with her left hand.

Irregular breathing continued as if about to break, but eventually found its way back to its place.

The students looked at Mun Ah-rin without being able to utter proper exclamations. Admiration had already tinged their gazes.

It was like a delicate sculptor depicting emotion.

Between harmonies, even the most subtle gaps were perfect. Those breaths gathered to become rhythm, and then became music.

-♬…

The last note lingered long like a reverberation.

Until then, no one readily moved. It was quiet enough that even the sound of swallowing could be heard loudly.

Even after the piece ended, Mun Ah-rin didn’t look at the audience and remained still with her hands on the last keys.

As if enjoying the afterglow of the music she had created.

Clap clap.

Clap clap clap clap!

Thunderous applause erupted belatedly.

Only then did Mun Ah-rin seem to notice this was a lecture hall, startled, then stood up and bowed deeply.

Clap clap clap.

Jeong Tae-seong, who had been applauding as well, spoke with a bright smile.

“Bravo! Student Mun Ah-rin, your skills have improved tremendously! The completion is excellent, and the transitions were very natural. Above all, the emotional delivery is superb. It was flawlessly perfect.”

“Thank you, Professor!”

Mun Ah-rin looked as if she didn’t know what to do with such excessive praise.

“Wow, that’s insane.”

“Isn’t she a total genius too? How does she write music like this?”

“I thought only Seol and Cho Yun-je were monsters. Turns out Mun Ah-rin was a hidden genius too.”

As the students added their comments one by one, the corners of Mun Ah-rin’s eyes curved ever so slightly.

“That’s right. Originally, Mun Ah-rin was a scholarship candidate.”

“Really? But why did she get rejected?”

“Why else? The rolling stone pushed out the embedded stone.”

“Ah~. Okay, I get it completely.”

There was subtle mockery mixed in the students’ voices. As if they had been waiting for this moment all along.

Mun Ah-rin, blushing and looking flustered, was probably much more humanly appealing than me, who went out with a calm expression, performed my piece, and returned.

Whatever they said about me while being manipulated by Mun Ah-rin’s schemes wasn’t particularly important to me.

Because at that moment, my head was filled with completely different thoughts.

‘Mun Ah-rin…’

It wasn’t shame or jealousy from hearing Mun Ah-rin’s name called instead of mine.

My clenched fists trembled violently, creating wrinkles in my clothes. Even so, I had to struggle to calm myself down.

Mun Ah-rin smiled shyly while greeting those around her, then when our eyes met, she beamed like a flower in full bloom.

Her attitude seemed to be showing off, telling me to look at her.

If I could, I wanted to ask her directly right then and there.

‘What the hell did you do?’

Because.

‘This isn’t a piece you composed.’

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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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