Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Meeting Elkind Logan
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Elkind Logan came face-to-face with Yeonwoo.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Elkind Logan. People call me Logan, whether we’re close or not, instead of my full name.”
“I’m Yuin. People around me usually call me by my real name, Yeonwoo.”
“Then can I call you Yeonwoo too?”
“I’ll call you Logan as well.”
“Great.”
Yeonwoo and Elkind Logan shook hands.
Elkind Logan gazed quietly at the small hand that fit perfectly into his own.
She’d said Amelia was a year older, right?
She looked several years younger just by appearance. They said Asians had youthful looks, and it wasn’t limited to adults, apparently.
This little kid had topped the Melboard chart with her debut album?
‘It doesn’t feel real.’
No matter how he thought about it, she just seemed like a cute, pretty child.
“This is my granddaughter, Amelia Logan.”
“Hi, I’m Amelia. Call me Mel for short.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Yeonwoo nodded and shook hands with Amelia too.
Amelia held Yeonwoo’s hand, looking a bit excited.
Her expression was prim and haughty like any other girl, but Elkind Logan could tell.
‘Her ears are red.’
Amelia’s ears turned red first whenever her emotions ran high.
It seemed his granddaughter really liked Yuin—not rationally, but as a fan.
Since his granddaughter was this fond of her, his curiosity was piqued.
What kind of music did this kid make?
In truth, he’d listened to it beforehand.
Elkind Logan, who used to listen to nothing but hip-hop obsessively, had broadened his horizons with age.
He’d realized he couldn’t evolve if he stayed trapped in hip-hop.
Anyway, to him, Yeonwoo’s songs were definitely special.
Even Olivia Snow, who shone more with star power than musicality, sang them that way…
No, wait a second.
“Snow?”
“You recognize me now?”
“I didn’t because you weren’t wearing makeup… No, you’re still staying here?”
“You knew I was living in Korea?”
“My granddaughter told me. Right, Mel?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you’re practically family now. Right, Jade?”
Olivia Snow’s gaze turned toward Heo Ok, who was busily preparing noodles in the kitchen.
“That’s my grandmother.”
“I see. Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, nice to meet you. It’s our first time meeting, but we’re treating you to a meal already? Help yourself.”
Elkind Logan and Amelia both looked at the bowls of noodles placed in front of them.
Steam rose enticingly from the hot noodles, making their mouths water without realizing it.
With a solid foundation in Korean cuisine, the instant feeling hit them: this is delicious.
“Then I won’t hold back…”
Elkind Logan said that and picked up his fairly accustomed chopsticks, scooping up a big mouthful of noodles.
‘Oh, shit…!’
What was this flavor?
The thin noodles had a chewy bite, followed by a rich savoriness spreading through his mouth.
And what was this? A warmth blooming in his chest, then a refreshing coolness?
Where did this sensation come from?
Pondering, he looked down at the noodle bowl.
‘The broth?’
Yeah, it seemed the soup was the culprit. He picked up his spoon and took a sip of the broth.
The broth, infused with anchovy stock, seaweed, and vegetable garnishes, moved him deeply.
Unlike the straightforward flavors of American food, the primal tastes blended exquisitely into a profound depth.
A different flavor from gomguk, even though it was broth-based.
“What is this, exactly…”
Elkind Logan marveled as he glanced to the side.
His granddaughter had her face practically buried in the bowl, inhaling the noodles.
Her reaction was even better than when she’d first tried kimbap, which she loved enough to eat daily.
“If it’s not too rude, could I get the recipe for these noodles?”
Heo Ok nodded readily at Elkind Logan’s question.
“Of course. It’s not a complicated recipe.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Elkind Logan said that and looked at Heo Ok. She exuded elegance.
Like nobility, perhaps?
“The somyeon cooks up quick. Dig in.”
“Ah, yes.”
After staring at Heo Ok for a moment, Elkind Logan hurriedly finished his noodles.
Once he’d polished off the food, he sat there blankly, savoring the satisfying fullness, before snapping back and looking at Yeonwoo.
“Do you know why a hip-hop guy like me came to see you?”
“How would I know if you don’t tell me? So tell me.”
He’d expected some thoughtfulness, but she was surprisingly direct.
“Shall I?”
“Yes.”
“More than anything, I was impressed by your jazz. On your YouTube channel.”
“Jazz?”
“Yeah. It might be rude to say, but you play such sad jazz that it’s hard to believe your age.”
“Sad jazz…”
“That’s what caught my eye. Sadness.”
Elkind Logan said that and looked at Yeonwoo clearly.
Even now, it amazed him.
How could a kid like this express such sadness?
Watching her calmly play on YouTube, the sight and melody were so heartrending that his nose tingled.
“And I saw it. The song that overcomes sadness.”
Yeonwoo’s pieces—no, precisely her free jazz performances—were always like that.
Heart-wrenchingly sad one moment, then singing hope, healing wounds, embracing warmth the next.
As if trying to heal someone’s heart.
It had stirred Elkind Logan, who was preparing a new album.
He wanted to collaborate.
As a partner to fill in what he couldn’t express, what felt clumsy.
‘But she’s too young…’
No matter how he thought about it, it was hard to believe.
“Could you show it to me right here?”
At those words, Yeonwoo stared at Elkind Logan for a moment before replying.
“Sure.”
Yeonwoo nodded readily and hopped down from his chair.
“Follow me.”
With that, Yeonwoo bounded up to the second floor.
What?
“Go ahead and follow him.”
Heo Ok urged him on amid his bewilderment.
For Elkind Logan, an American used to not showing family living spaces beyond the reception area on the first floor, it felt impolite.
But she said to go.
Cultures differ, after all.
As Elkind Logan was about to head up with Amelia…
A melody drifted down from the second floor.
“Ah! Master! You can’t just start playing out of nowhere like that!”
Olivia Snow bolted upstairs the moment she heard the melody.
Elkind Logan felt inexplicably urgent too and hurried up to the second floor with Amelia.
The small second-floor living room faced south with floor-to-ceiling windows, sunlight pouring in, all bathing the grand piano.
And Yeonwoo sat at the piano, playing.
A place he’d never heard before.
Free jazz, no doubt.
Yeonwoo, who’d started by loosening up with precisely genre-defined, textbook playing, soon launched into his true performance.
Just as Elkind Logan had requested, he told a story of sadness.
And he asked himself.
‘Am I sad right now?’
No, not at all.
Or maybe a little? No, to be precise, thinking of Mom always ended in sadness.
He missed her and longed for her.
But it never tormented him to the point of pain. There were people to soothe it.
Now, he saw so much more than just sadness.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t express sadness.
Sadness could be overcome, but it scarred the body like a wound, never fully erased.
He drew it out and expressed it.
Sadness could be conveyed in any genre. He was that familiar with it.
But the guest wanted jazz.
Play it in jazz?
That was the one genre he was most confident in.
Over the past time, Yeonwoo’s piano skills, honed relentlessly, had reached an otherworldly realm.
Even a little elevation, and no living soul could teach him piano.
Such a Yeonwoo played a dazzlingly sad jazz.
As if waiting, fairies of every color appeared, blending with the sunlight to emit beautiful glows.
“Wow… this kid…”
Olivia Snow watched Yeonwoo, sticking out her tongue in awe.
How long had it been since she’d seen him play for real? Since the first album?
She was amazed every time.
It wasn’t a lie—she genuinely wished she could play even a fraction as well.
Elkind Logan felt the same. He was silently praising the heavens inside.
‘How in the world…’
Videos couldn’t capture it all. Look at that kid’s piano.
Something videos could never hold was here now.
A piano that stimulated hearts—no, shook them wildly.
“An incredible piano, right?”
Elkind Logan said that and looked at Amelia.
‘…Hmm.’
Elkind Logan let out a quiet groan inside.
Amelia was bawling her eyes out while watching Yeonwoo’s piano.
Yeonwoo’s expressed sadness was stirring her.
She was surely thinking of her own mother.
Amelia’s mother, his daughter-in-law, who had passed from cancer.
His daughter-in-law had been bright, lively, and utterly lovable. His son was the second person he loved most after his wife, but she’d seemed too good for him.
And she’d created the most beautiful, perfect being in the world.
Amelia.
To Elkind Logan, she was the fourth gift from God—and the greatest.
But happiness didn’t last.
His daughter-in-law got pancreatic cancer, and by the time it was found, it was too late.
With the best medical team, they managed surgery, but cure was impossible.
Thus, she left her son and granddaughter behind and went to heaven.
God could be cruel.
Elkind Logan had lost his wife, then brought his broken son and granddaughter home to hold them.
Otherwise, it felt like the two precious ones would follow their beloved daughter-in-law.
Years passed, and they’d improved a lot, but a wound still lingered in the child’s heart.
It seemed healed on the outside, but now he saw it was still festering inside.
‘Damn…’
Elkind Logan patted his granddaughter’s shoulder with a choked heart.
That was when.
Yeonwoo’s piano, singing sadness, began to shift gradually.
The changing melody seemed to say…
This isn’t the time to be sad.
It’s time to stand up.
Think of those still here.
Heal each other’s wounds and move forward.
Sequentially, like that.
Elkind Logan looked at Yeonwoo.
Blinding in the pouring sunlight, the boy was dazzling.
Playing an unbelievable piano, just as some authoritative news outlet had called him—a once-in-a-century genius, and it wasn’t enough.
‘Only nine now…’
Elkind Logan couldn’t believe it even watching.
That kid… wasn’t just a once-in-a-century genius.
‘If there’s a god of music…’
Then.
‘A messenger of God? Something like that?’
It felt over the top and cringy, but that’s how Elkind Logan felt right now.
Look.
Beside him, Amelia had stopped crying, still tinged with sadness but smiling brighter than ever.