Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: The Legend's Swan Song
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Mark Miller squeezed his eyes shut tight and then opened them in his hazy vision.
Where...?
"Carnegie Hall?"
When did I get here?
Did my grandson keep his promise and set up this final stage for me?
For a brief moment, his mind cleared, and Mark Miller struggled to recall his recent memories before spotting Yuin.
"Yuin..."
"I'm right here, Grandpa Mark."
"Oh, right."
Mark Miller gave her a gentle smile and extended his hand to Yuin.
She took it in hers.
"This is Carnegie Hall, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. Today is the day of the final stage you always wanted."
"I see... I'm so happy."
Was he disappointed?
No way.
Mark Miller knew his own condition all too well. Days when his mind cleared like this were rare enough to count on one hand, and even then, they only lasted a fleeting moment.
He wanted to hold onto his sanity somehow, but it wasn't easy.
Still, now that he was here, he had to grasp it with everything he had.
This was his final stage. He had to sing his song.
"What's the holdup, Miller? Let's go!"
Just then, a familiar voice rang out in front of him.
"Otis..."
"Oh, you're back with us? Do you remember?"
"You've gotten old yourself."
In his memories, Otis was only the young, sturdy man from his early days.
It was like hopping in a time machine—Otis now was shockingly aged.
"You're one to talk, Miller."
Mark chuckled weakly at Otis's hearty laugh and looked down at his own hand, firmly gripping Yeonwoo's.
A wrinkled, pathetic hand.
Yeah, I've gotten old too.
For a moment, his mind grew distant.
'No, not now.'
He tried desperately to hold onto his consciousness.
He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head side to side before opening them again.
"Hm?"
Where was this?
Right, Carnegie Hall.
My favorite stage.
A place everyone sees as an honor, so it demands that much more value and responsibility.
He turned his gaze.
There was Otis Jackson, his bold and fearless bodyguard-slash-manager who was just starting out in the business.
'Hey! Mr. Mark! Hurry up!'
"Yeah, let's do this."
As always, he patted the shoulder of Otis, who was like a cute nephew, and stepped forward.
Huh?
Someone was gripping his hand tightly beside him.
It was a boy.
Who was he?
He didn't know, but the face seemed familiar.
What was it?
Something... but he couldn't remember. Otis urged him on again, so he hurried toward the stage.
Bright lights welcomed him, and the grand Isaac Stern Auditorium greeted him.
The people in the red seats rose to their feet as if they'd been waiting, clapping enthusiastically.
Led by the child's hand, he stood before the piano. Naturally, he reached for the mic.
As always, he spotted the mic on the piano, picked it up, and scanned the audience.
Where were his wife and son?
After a moment of searching, he spotted his son and his wife standing beside him.
Everything was perfect.
Now he could sing!
* * *
The audience rose to their feet, clapping wildly as they watched Mark Miller enter, hand in hand with Yeonwoo.
Despite his unsteady gait, he made it to the piano, picked up the mic placed there, and gazed out at the seats.
Just like the Mark Miller of old.
He stood silently for a long while, staring at the crowd.
The audience grew uneasy but tried not to show it.
The YouTube live chat, on the other hand, exploded.
-What the hell?
-Isn't this the dementia?
-Knew it.
-Scary. He made it onstage, but that's his limit, huh?
-In the end, he can't perform the song on the stage he wanted so badly.
-At least Yuin said she'd turn it into a recital if this happened.
-Olivia Snow said she'd step in and sing in his place for songs she knows.
-Yuin and Olivia Snow are showing mad respect to a legend.
-They've been hanging out like a duo lately.
-Olivia Snow's calling him master.
-Is he okay, though?
-Get him offstage to rest! Don't make a legend clown around!!
-Huh?
-He's talking!
"Everyone... wel... come..."
He opened his mouth, but the words trailed off into mumbles.
Yet his warm gaze kept fixed on one spot.
Where his eyes landed sat his grandson, Eric Miller, with Mark Miller's daughter-in-law—his own mother.
They each held photos of Mark Miller's son and wife.
Yeonwoo, seeing this through his capture board, began to play.
One of his signature songs—the very one Yeonwoo had first played for him—Midnight in Blue.
-As expected.
-Can he sing?
-This is a bad call.
-Tell Olivia Snow to come up already.
-This is heartbreaking.
-Please...
Moonlight drinks bourbon.
As everyone watched anxiously, he opened his mouth and sang.
His voice was hoarse now, unlike his prime, but it blended strangely well with his aged appearance and the flow of time.
Like listening to an old, worn LP record from long ago?
Yeonwoo checked on Mark Miller constantly while playing.
New blue fairies were spawning around him.
The old fairies mingled with the newborns hovering near Mark Miller, and soon green ones began glowing into existence.
A true legend.
Even in his fractured mind, the aura of a star emanated from him.
No yellow fairies appeared.
No monetary value?
Yeonwoo shook his head inwardly.
It wasn't about lacking monetary value.
'This stage right now is priceless.'
The song built to its climax, flowing into the final verse.
Midnight in—Blue—!
After finishing, Mark Miller yanked the mic down as per habit and looked at the audience.
In that instant, the crowd who had come to witness this stage surged to their feet, erupting in thunderous applause.
Waaaaaaaaah!!!
* * *
Everyone was clapping for him.
Mark Miller soaked it in before searching for his wife and son.
They too were applauding him generously.
"Thank you!! Thank you, everyone!"
He raised his hand to quiet the crowd.
Time for the next song.
What was it again?
He couldn't recall the setlist.
He was still young—too early for this.
He didn't want to burden his wife with dementia later...
"Ah...!"
In that moment.
His wife and son were gone.
In their place stood strangers—no, looking closer, his daughter-in-law and grandson.
'Was it a dream? Or a dementia hallucination?'
He sank into gloom.
Ruining his final stage with dementia.
No, the audience's reaction suggested he hadn't botched it completely.
But his mind began to drift again.
Just then.
As if sensing his state, piano sounds came from behind.
'Yuin.'
The genius boy who produced the most beautiful piano sounds in his life.
He was playing Velvet Afternoon, the song the boy made for his wife.
His mind cleared.
Strangely, the kid's piano always did that.
He opened his mouth to match the accompaniment.
Don't lose it this time.
He had to see his final stage's audience—and his beloved grandsons.
Repeating that to himself, Mark Miller flashed his signature warm smile and sang.
'Honey, thank you. To make a song like this for me.'
His wife's voice whispered in his ear.
A hallucination?
'I can feel your heart in it.'
Seemed like one.
Memories from the past echoing as auditory hallucinations.
Don't give in.
This is just a memory.
His wife wasn't of this world anymore.
She was... someone he'd meet again in heaven. He couldn't fall for hallucinations now.
'I'll play it for you every day when you ask, right?'
Hallucination... hallucination...
'Of course.'
He couldn't ignore her question.
In that instant, his wife and son reappeared on stage.
His wife gazed at him lovingly, hands clasped over her heart as she listened.
Before he knew it, Mark Miller was back in that time, smiling warmly at his wife and singing a love song just for her.
But it was fleeting.
As the end approached, he forgot the lyrics.
The stage crumbled, the world darkening.
Where was this?
I... I...
Blackout, like the abyss.
Sinking—no, sucked into the void—his consciousness faded.
When he thought he could no longer think or move.
'Light?'
Blue light appeared.
He instinctively chased it.
The approaching blue glow.
'...Me?'
It was himself.
The blue clone dove straight into Mark Miller's head upon facing him.
Startled, Mark Miller squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them as a cool clarity washed over his mind.
The stage came into view.
And Yeonwoo's accompaniment rang out.
Mark Miller knew instinctively.
This perfect mental state was thanks to the blue clone.
And it wouldn't last.
So he had to give it everything.
This was truly his final stage.
* * *
Yeonwoo watched Mark Miller worriedly, getting no reaction even to the accompaniment.
But only for a moment.
The instant his clone entered Mark Miller, blue light poured from him.
Mark Miller's fairies had restored his mind.
Then, Mark Miller turned to look at Yeonwoo.
'...!!'
Yeonwoo met his eyes and felt it.
This is the last one.
That's what Mark Miller seemed to say.
Help me.
Yeonwoo nodded and focused on the piano.
In that moment, blue, green, and yellow lights burst from his body simultaneously.
With his resolve hardened, the fairies responded, glowing brightly.
The light enveloped the piano, then spread to Mark Miller.
No grand new power.
Just a sense, through the light, that he was giving it his all.
And so Yeonwoo played Mark Miller's third hit, For No One Else.
O-only for you (For No One Else).
A song made for his wife—but in this moment, Mark Miller sang it for the audience.
And Yeonwoo played it solely for Mark Miller.
I sang for the world, but I wrote this for no one else.
I sang for the world, but this song I wrote just for you.
Just know every song was yours in every line.
Every song I sang, every lyric was all for you.
Conveying his heartfelt truth to the audience.
Thus, his final stage, his final song reached its peak.
So take this last song—!!
Take this final song!
Mark Miller poured out his soul, squeezing his voice until it hurt, clenching his fist tight.
Having given everything, he squeezed his eyes shut.
A single tear traced down his cheek.
Joy at having this final stage, bittersweet relief that it was truly ending, sorrow that he'd never stand on one again, and regret blending it all.
That tear held it all—and as if resonating, the audience wept too, rising as one to shower him with endless applause.