Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Budokan Stage
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Yeonwoo and Heo Ok had prepared seats off to one side of the stage, in a spot hidden from the audience, and sat there watching Himari on stage before their own turn came.
“Wow……!”
Seeing Himari appear on stage, Yeonwoo couldn’t help letting out an exclamation of admiration.
As she walked toward the piano, blue fairies stood in a straight line on either side of her, welcoming her like vassals greeting their queen.
The free-spirited blue fairies that usually emerged from her body were nowhere to be seen in this moment.
Was she different on stage than she was normally?
After the applause died down, her performance began.
Pure white lighting shone down on her.
The light touching her shattered like fragments, making her glow white all over, as she played the piano with half-closed eyes.
The moment her performance started, fairies carrying deep sorrow began emitting blue light, and that light spread out like waves across the entire concert hall.
Yeonwoo’s eyes saw the Budokan concert hall being dyed blue.
From the very start, a heavy sorrow began pressing down on the audience’s hearts.
Even though it was just the first piece, people were already starting to shed tears.
She had many nicknames, and someone had called her the Queen of Tears, hadn’t they?
It was indeed the case.
The Budokan had turned into a sea of tears.
“As expected…….”
Yeonwoo realized something.
Piano skill wasn’t everything.
On stage, she was showing more than he had imagined.
Her overwhelming charisma filled in for her (?) slightly lacking piano technique, and the pieces she created tied it all together.
And the audience fell into it completely.
Himari played three pieces back-to-back without a break.
Yeonwoo felt a bit disappointed.
“Grandma, why is she playing exactly like the album? If she’s doing three pieces straight, wouldn’t it be better to add some free ad-libs?”
“In Japan, they prefer it this way. Because…….”
Japan had a broad music base and diverse fan layers, but in the longstanding jazz scene, there was a somewhat strict atmosphere.
It might be fine for casual stages, but in a symbolic place like the Budokan in the Japanese music world, free jazz wasn’t allowed within the setlist, at least.
“I see…….”
Hearing his grandma’s explanation, Yeonwoo nodded and turned his gaze back to Himari.
The setlist passed by quickly.
“We should start getting ready soon.”
At Heo Ok’s words as she watched the performance, Yeonwoo nodded.
Now it was time to change this concert hall filled with sorrow.
Yeonwoo entered the waiting room with his grandma.
“[You’ve arrived!]”
“[Yuin and Teacher Jade have entered! Time for costumes!]”
“[I’ll touch up the makeup. Is that alright, Teacher Jade?]”
The moment the two entered the waiting room, the staff sprang into bustling action.
“[No, we just did it earlier, why again…….]”
“[Even so, since you’re going back on stage, we think preparing you perfectly is the best we can do.]”
As Heo Ok spoke awkwardly, Nanase, who had appeared out of nowhere, replied to her.
“[Is that so… Alright, then…….]”
At Heo Ok’s words, the makeup artist hurriedly touched up her makeup.
In the meantime, Yeonwoo changed clothes with the staff’s help.
A white shirt, black suit pants, and suspenders.
“[Do I really have to wear this?]”
“[Yes. Is anything uncomfortable?]”
“[No, it’s just awkward since it’s my first time. Thanks for taking care of the clothes.]”
Yeonwoo bowed to the stylists. The stylists forgot for a moment that the boy in front of them was the music prince they cherished at JOP and inwardly all shouted “kawaii” together.
Yeonwoo’s cuteness was beyond imagination.
“Grandma, how do I look?!”
After bowing, Yeonwoo ran over to his grandma, who was getting her makeup fixed, and asked.
Seeing him like that, Heo Ok smiled and said,
“You look great.”
“Hehe.”
“[All done, Teacher.]”
“[Thank you.] Alright, shall we head out now?”
“Is it our turn already?”
Before Heo Ok could answer, Nanase, checking the TV screen showing the live stage, shouted.
“[Teacher Jade, Yeonwoo-kun! It’s time to go on!]”
“I see.”
Heo Ok said that, stood from her seat, took Yeonwoo’s hand, and headed for the stage.
Yeonwoo’s heart pounded wildly.
While watching Invincible’s stage, he had wondered what it would feel like to stand on stage himself.
Now that the unexpected opportunity had come, he couldn’t help but feel excited.
What about Grandma?
Out of curiosity, Yeonwoo turned to look at Heo Ok.
“……!!”
Yeonwoo’s eyes widened in surprise without realizing it.
There was no longer his grandma Heo Ok—it was Jade, the Iron-Blooded Queen who had dominated American stages.
If Himari was merely winter, Heo Ok was like the Antarctic.
‘Grandma too…….’
Yeonwoo realized that his grandma was different on stage as well.
In the meantime, Himari took the mic on stage and spoke.
“[This piece, Mama, is one I composed, and Yuin arranged. Originally, it was a tribute to my teacher and second mother, Teacher Heo Ok.]
[After the arrangement, it became a form for Yuin and me to perform together, but today on this stage, I’d like the three of us to play Mama together. Allow me to introduce her: Heo Ok, Teacher Jade, my teacher and Yuin’s.]”
At those words, the audience buzzed.
The young people reacted to “Yuin,” while the older audience murmured at “Heo Ok, Jade.”
In the meantime, Yeonwoo and Heo Ok came onto the stage hand in hand.
“Yuin!!! ”
“Kawaii—!!”
At Yeonwoo’s appearance, people cheered and chanted for Yuin.
Heo Ok scanned the audience outside the stage with a sense of fresh emotion.
How long had it been since she’d been in a place like this?
She thought she had forgotten everything after leaving the stage for so long, but the moment she stepped onto it, her blood boiled.
It seemed there was no helping it.
Heo Ok unwittingly let a faint smile play on her lips and bowed to the audience in greeting.
Beside her, Yeonwoo quickly bowed to his grandma.
Clap clap clap clap!
Amid the applause welcoming them, Yeonwoo and Heo Ok sat at their already set pianos.
As the audience fell silent at the sight, Yeonwoo pressed the piano keys first.
Mama began to play.
The youthful piece depicting the mother from his childhood flowed fresh and ticklishly, followed by Himari’s piece depicting the mother seen as an adult.
Their well-honed breathing from practice was enough to captivate the audience in one go.
Then Heo Ok joined in, and finally, the trio’s performance began.
Even as Yeonwoo busily moved his fingers, he lifted his head to survey the stage.
Blue fairies were bursting forth from the three pianos.
Yeonwoo thought the entire Budokan was filled with blue light, like an ocean.
Every time the three pressed the keys, new blue light poured out, making it ripple like waves.
Yeonwoo turned his gaze to the audience. They were all listening to the piece in reverent postures.
Some wore sad expressions while listening to Mama, while others smiled as if recalling fond memories.
It was a different atmosphere from Invincible’s rock festival, but Yeonwoo thought this wasn’t bad either.
It felt like they were purely focused on his performance, not enjoying the whole concert.
Amid that, the piece was gradually drawing to a close.
Yeonwoo felt a pang of regret.
‘Is it ending here?’
In Himari’s concert this time, this was the last stage for Yeonwoo and Heo Ok.
Mama was just a little over 6 minutes long. After preparing for quite a while for these 6 minutes, it was inevitable to feel unsatisfied.
At the final phrase, where Yeonwoo was supposed to wrap it up, he began playing freely without hesitation.
Himari and Heo Ok glanced at Yeonwoo.
They had no choice.
Unlike the original piece, Yeonwoo had added an ad-lib.
Heo Ok and Himari realized Yeonwoo wanted to play the piece more.
Japan might not favor ad-libs within the setlist, but Himari thought,
‘What does it matter? If Yeonwoo wants to.’
Besides, she was seasoned enough that this kind of thing (?) would be tolerated.
Himari smiled faintly and followed Yeonwoo’s playing.
Seeing the two, Heo Ok’s playing began supporting them in kind.
The audience murmured silently for a moment, but those who checked the setlist soon nodded.
They had confirmed this was the trio’s final piece.
Some savored Heo Ok’s stage, which they might never see again; others enjoyed the young genius’s divine playing; and some simply immersed in the atmosphere.
The performance continued for another 20 minutes, ending as Yeonwoo’s piano came to a stop.
The moment it ended, the audience rose as one for a standing ovation.
Grabbing Heo Ok and Himari’s hands amid the applause, Yeonwoo bowed to the audience.
That drew even hotter applause welcoming him.
Looking at them, Yeonwoo’s chest swelled.
‘So this is what a stage is like.’
Thinking that, he held his grandma’s hand as they left the stage, then turned back for one last look.
It felt regrettable to leave like this. But there was no helping it.
‘Someday, I too…….’
He wanted his own stage.
With that thought, Yeonwoo watched Himari’s performance until the very end.
Thus, Himari’s Budokan concert came to a close.
“[Freedom at last!!]”
Seeing the end of this album’s promotions, Himari stretched and shouted “freedom” in front of Heo Ok, Yeonwoo, and all the staff gathered.
Everyone applauded at her words.
Her album this time had been a huge success.
It had held #1 on Melboard Japan Hot 100 for 6 weeks in the jazz genre, and all 11 U.S. regional concerts had sold out to triumphant closes.
The Japan shows went without saying.
The Budokan concert had been held as an encore precisely because the nationwide tour kept selling out.
“[But before that, wouldn’t it be a shame to part without a single after-party? Everyone, meet at my favorite yakiniku spot! Uesugi’s treating!]”
Waaaaah!!
Leaving the staff’s cheers behind, Himari, Heo Ok, and Yeonwoo prepared to head out separately.
“[Auntie, so now you’re taking a break?]”
“[That’s right?]”
“[Then what are you going to do next?]”
Himari grinned at Yeonwoo’s words and said,
“[Follow Yeonwoo to Korea?]”
Yeonwoo brightened at that.
“[Really? Awesome!! What about you, Grandma?]”
After that, Yeonwoo and Himari both looked at Heo Ok at the same time.
Heo Ok looked at the two, smiled, and nodded.
“[Grandma says yes too!!]”
“[Great, right?]”
Watching the two high-five happily, Heo Ok thought of the room being used as a dressing room.
‘Should I get a bed?’
Heo Ok wasn’t even considering that Himari would stay at a hotel separately.
“[Rather than a dorm, I want to stay at Teacher’s house! I can sleep on blankets in the living room or kitchen!!]”
It seemed Himari had no intention of staying elsewhere either.
And so, Himari joined the grandmother and grandson on their return trip home, drawing ever closer.