The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 97

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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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The moment I opened the waiting room door, the atmosphere completely changed.

The smell of sweat, the artificial scent of hairspray, and stuffy dust were all mixed together.

People were busily moving around, talking about various things.

-Did anyone see the setting spray I left here?

-Ooh~ Try it. Ooh~.

-You can put the costumes here. Instruments go over there.

Every time I turned my gaze, lip movements caught my sight. Everyone seemed busy doing makeup, setting their hair, and tuning their instruments.

When I turned my head, I saw a board with the list of performers hanging there. Numbers were written in large font next to it.

6. Mun Ah-rin

7. Seol

My name was there too. 7th out of 10 people. I’ll have to wait quite a while.

-Those with instruments, please gather at the stage over there~.

At the staff’s words, people with guitars and violins rushed out in a crowd.

Staff members went back and forth on stage, putting up blackout tape.

-Anyone need a microphone? Standing mics are like this. Those who brought guitars, there will be chairs here so you can sit there and perform. We’ll adjust the microphone position for you…

I was following the staff’s rapid-fire lip movements when it happened.

Tap!

Someone roughly grabbed my shoulder and turned me around.

“!”

As I was startled, another staff member spoke with an annoyed expression.

-You’re using the piano, right? Number 7.

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

-Why didn’t you answer? I said piano players should gather.

Looking where he pointed, I saw several people including Mun Ah-rin huddled together.

Oh no. I was so distracted by that side that I missed this.

“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

-Come quickly.

“Yes.”

Following him, the piano players now stood in front of the installed piano.

-You can put your sheet music on top of the piano here. Did anyone prepare an introduction for their piece in advance? If so, please let me know.

I almost missed it for a moment.

He spoke too fast. I could roughly understand from context, but.

If I didn’t concentrate, I felt like I’d miss the lip movements entirely.

-Those who didn’t prepare anything, just tell me the concept of your piece in advance. The judges have already reviewed the sheet music and demos. They said they’ll just watch how you present it on stage today, so please keep this in mind. You can’t improvise changes~.

After hearing the brief explanation, I could return to the waiting room. The waiting room monitor was showing rehearsal footage.

The front row where the judges sat, the lights pouring onto the stage. All of it was clearly visible.

From the vibrations I felt, it seemed like music was playing.

‘System Window.’

[ Duration : 06 : 23 : 51 ]

6 hours.

Despite having endured such a long time, this much still remained.

‘This is tricky.’

My turn is 7th. If I had been 10th, I could have performed after the status ailment wore off.

I had no way of knowing how much time would pass before my turn, or what variables might interfere.

‘I hope it gets delayed a little.’

Of course, I had trained to deliver the best performance even when I couldn’t hear.

But it would definitely be much easier if I could hear.

Cho Yun-je’s evaluation, who had pushed me to the very end, was this:

-You’re good. You’re good, but… inevitably it’s not ‘perfect.’ About 2% lacking.

I knew it too. While it was possible to memorize and play sheet music like a machine, truly communicating with the audience was difficult.

Performing live on stage wasn’t simply playing back a recorded tape.

Communicating with the audience through silence, sharing invisible emotions.

These were things I simply couldn’t do without being able to hear.

As I was blankly staring at the stage, someone waved their hand back and forth.

When I turned my head, Mun Ah-rin was standing there.

-Seol.

With makeup on, her already bright face looked much more lovely than usual. Her slightly flushed cheeks, her sparkling lips.

How beautiful she would be under the stage lights.

-What~. You haven’t even done your makeup yet?

“Oh, yeah. I just arrived. Everyone came earlier than I expected.”

-Maybe it worked out well. If you go now, you won’t have to wait in line with others.

“Right.”

-Aren’t you nervous?

Mun Ah-rin had somehow stuck close to my side and linked arms with me.

I had to turn my head with effort to look at Mun Ah-rin’s lips.

“Not really. What about you?”

-Me? I’m fine. Maybe it’s because Professor Jeong Tae-seong always makes me go up front and present?

Mun Ah-rin laughed playfully. I also let out a small laugh.

-Being like this reminds me of the Scholarship Recital. Our numbers are right next to each other too, right?

“I saw. You’re 6th, I’m 7th.”

-Must be fate~. It’s nice that we’re performing on stage together, right?

Mun Ah-rin stared at me intently as if observing something.

-How’s your condition? You didn’t overdo it because of me, did you?

“Of course. Naturally.”

I spoke with deliberate confidence.

“It’s nothing at all.”

-Really?

Mun Ah-rin tilted her head.

“Why?”

-No. It’s just that the schedule was so tight. Of course, since it’s you, Seol, I was confident you’d write a good piece despite that. And we actually met here in the finals.

Whispering sweet words was Mun Ah-rin’s specialty.

Even knowing that, seeing her face sending me trusting looks somehow made a corner of my heart tingle.

-So I was wondering. How’s your physical condition today?

“I told you I’m fine.”

-…Really?

Mun Ah-rin looked over my face for a moment. Her lips were smiling, but her eyes didn’t seem to be.

“What’s wrong?”

Suppressing my anxious feelings, I asked back pretending to know nothing.

Then Mun Ah-rin showed me a bright smile.

-Nothing. I guess I was mistaken.

“Huh?”

-How should I put it. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly. You seem a little different from your usual self.

“…Do I?”

I tried hard to ignore the cold sweat running down my spine.

I was reading her lips perfectly, and there was no gap for Mun Ah-rin to notice. How on earth did she figure it out?

Mun Ah-rin was still staring at me with those clear eyes.

At that moment, I realized.

Just as much as I knew about Mun Ah-rin, perhaps she also knew me well too.

Just as I could see right through Mun Ah-rin’s dark intentions. She could notice even the slightest sense of discomfort.

‘But there’s no way she could notice that my hearing suddenly stopped working. That’s impossible.’

Who could possibly imagine such a thing happening overnight?

Unless it was the System Window’s doing.

I took a deep breath inwardly. As I told myself that Mun Ah-rin couldn’t possibly know, my pounding heart gradually calmed down.

I hastily changed the subject.

“Come to think of it, is Hee-jae coming today?”

As soon as I brought up the sensitive topic, Mun Ah-rin’s eyes instantly sharpened.

-Yeah. He said he’s coming.

I put on a bright smile.

-He said he’ll be sitting in the audience today. He really wants to watch my performance.

‘My performance.’

Those words were particularly clear.

The owner of the song, Park Hee-jae, would be sitting in the dark audience, while Mun Ah-rin would receive all the spotlight.

Thinking about it made my mouth taste bitter.

‘What is Park Hee-jae thinking?’

Is he really okay with it? I couldn’t easily picture Park Hee-jae’s face in the darkness.

-Oh right. What about Yun-je?

“What?”

-You’ve been practicing with Yun-je these past few days.

“How did you know that?”

-Some kids who saw you two going into the same practice room told me? What’s this~. You two don’t have something going on, do you?

Mun Ah-rin playfully poked my side.

“It’s not like that. He’s good at piano, so I got some help from him.”

-Really? Then we’re both in a three-legged race.

Mun Ah-rin naturally grouped me and Cho Yun-je as a team.

-Yun-je will probably come today too. We both need to do well.

And she walked away first. I stood still for a while, watching Mun Ah-rin’s retreating figure.

To others, it might have seemed like ordinary encouragement, but not to me.

It was a kind of declaration of war.

It was also a preview of a head-to-head confrontation, saying let’s see who wins.

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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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