Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Demon King's Challenge
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“How much farther is it?”
“[…We just got in the car.]”
“Is this the best you can do driving? Hey, who do you work for? Can’t you go any faster?”
“[Ah, got it.]”
Shunji Datemura barked at Himari’s road manager before pulling out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.
The manager gasped at the sight and spoke up.
“[Sir, Uesugi hates smoking in the car.]”
“[Is that my problem?]”
Shunji said that and lit the cigarette anyway.
He was the epitome of a terrible man.
There was a reason he was called a tyrant within JOP, or even the Seventh Demon King, borrowing Oda Nobunaga’s nickname.
But no one could defy him.
Because he was the man who had turned JOP—Japan Of Pride—into one of the country’s top distribution and agency companies.
Uniquely, JOP never trained idols, even in a nation where they made more money than anywhere else.
He had a keen eye.
Back then, he spotted genres no one cared about, collected amateurs playing underground, nurtured them, and led them to success.
Rock was one example. Hip-hop was another.
And though Heo Ok might have been the one to teach Himari, it was this Shunji who had made her a global star.
Any genre he touched turned to profit, and anyone who caught his eye soared.
The hand of Midas.
That’s what they called him in Japan, at least.
And even now, on the cusp of eighty, with his activity level undiminished, no one dared oppose him.
“[Long time no see, kid.]”
“[You’re here?]”
Even Himari felt the same.
Her posture and expression were as haughty as ever, but inside, she was tense.
“[Hiding Heo Ok’s visit? That was pretty cute.]”
“[Ah, well, you see…]”
“[I get it. You’re not the type to sell out your teacher. Of course, I did. Kahaha!]”
Shunji burst into laughter as he said it.
Everyone tried to hide their expressions, but it wasn’t easy.
It was hard to grasp how he turned self-deprecation into humor.
But it made sense.
He was a madman.
A man who had set Japan ablaze with his eccentricities before he was a tyrant.
Now, in his old age, they just called him a tyrant.
“[So, where’s Heo Ok?]”
“[T-Teacher already left Japan…]”
“[Himari, your face shows every lie. Didn’t you know?]”
“…….”
“[Come on, tell me. Where is she?]”
It felt like she’d suffocate at this rate.
Himari sought help from the manager, but he was already out of it.
‘He’s useless…!’
As Himari inwardly cursed the manager and wiped the cold sweat beading on her forehead, pondering her options, Shunji finally approached her, unable to stand it any longer.
Shunji’s face was far from kind.
His sturdy build, hard to believe for a man nearing eighty, bald head, fierce features, and the vertical scar across his forehead made him look every bit the yakuza boss.
In short, just scowling and approaching was intimidating enough to choke you.
Himari swallowed hard and stepped back, overwhelmed by the aura radiating from his face.
What saved her was none other than Heo Ok—the very woman Shunji had been desperately seeking.
“[That’s enough.]”
“Oh…!”
Shunji let out an exclamation upon seeing Heo Ok and looked her over carefully.
Then, a strange expression crossed his face as he spoke.
“[Twenty years? Time flies. You’ve aged a lot.]”
“[Exactly twenty-two years. Since you stabbed us in the back and left.]”
That was right.
The two had once been in a band together in America.
A top-tier jazz band that everyone knew.
But for some reason, Shunji left, and the fallout led to the band’s breakup.
Heo Ok had no reason to think well of him.
But Shunji bristled at the “stabbed in the back” comment.
“[I stabbed you in the back?]”
He spoke as if it were the greatest injustice and glared at Heo Ok murderously.
He looked like pure evil incarnate.
Himari and the manager were too intimidated to speak, but Heo Ok didn’t care.
While he burned hot with rage, she stared back with a face as cold as a winter gale.
“Ha, hahaha!!”
After a moment.
Shunji burst into laughter. It was hearty, as if he’d never been angry.
“[Still the same. That’s why I like you, Heo Ok.]”
“[That’s why I hate you.]”
“[Talking back to someone ten years older. Still the same.]”
“[You still act immature for your age.]”
“[You never yield an inch.]”
Shunji shook his head.
“[Have I ever lost to you?]”
With that, he shook his head, smirked, looked around, pulled up a chair, and sat down.
“[Enough talk. Sit. Let’s catch up after all this time.]”
Himari and the manager were stunned.
They’d never seen the mighty Shunji yield like that.
It was infamous in Japan’s jazz scene that Heo Ok and Shunji had a bad relationship.
But they hadn’t realized it was this hostile.
What shocked them most was that the fearless tyrant Shunji Datemura had backed down to Heo Ok.
For a man afraid of nothing to fold like that.
“[I have nothing to say to you. If Himari hadn’t told me late, I’d have left Japan already.]”
“[I just wanted to hear your piano again. In decades, nothing has moved me like it.]”
“[Not smelling money in my piano?]”
Shunji roared with laughter again.
“[Busted?]”
“[Obviously.]”
Heo Ok said that and showed her fingers.
“[Beautiful hands.]”
Shunji said it bluntly and honestly. They truly were.
Not beautiful in themselves, but because the melodies they produced were beautiful, the hands appeared so too.
“[No thoughts of coming back? You still have it.]”
“[I’m not what I was. And if I wanted to return, I’d have gone to America long ago.]”
“[Not what you were? I definitely heard it.]”
“[No, that wasn’t me.]”
Shunji growled in response.
“[Liar. It was you!!]”
Heo Ok snorted.
“[Your ears have gone dull. I was a fool to even meet you on the off chance.]”
“[…Really not you?]”
“[Yes.]”
As she said it, Heo Ok thought to herself. In truth, she had planned to return to Korea.
The reason she’d changed her mind and met Shunji wasn’t anything special.
Most remembered him now as JOP’s head, but before Himari, he’d been a world-class guitarist and musician.
Even Heo Ok had to rank him as the best guitarist.
Just as she wanted Himari to teach Yeonwoo composition, she hoped Shunji could teach him guitar.
That was all.
It was the instrument Yeonwoo showed interest in after piano.
But she couldn’t make it look like a request.
The moment he sensed any upper hand, Shunji would act like a starving wolf.
She had to position herself firmly as the underdog.
“[Then who? Himari? No, she idolizes you and imitates, but her piano talent has limits. She can’t be you.]”
Himari bristled at that from behind but held it in.
At that moment, Shunji looked at Himari in surprise.
“[She’s holding back anger after I dissed her? Someone really is there, huh?]”
Himari’s pride in her piano was immense.
Even against a scary figure like Shunji, she acknowledged no one but Heo Ok in piano.
Shunji stroked his bushy mustache and eyed Heo Ok.
“[Who is it? Why won’t you tell me?]”
“[Still only caring if there’s money in it. He’s right in front of you.]”
Shunji looked puzzled at Heo Ok. His gaze, fixed solely on her, finally widened at her words.
Then he noticed the child peeking out from behind her, looking at him.
The boy had an astonishingly beautiful face.
But what caught Shunji’s attention was something else.
That he was behind Heo Ok.
It was surprising enough that the mighty Heo Ok was with a child, but one clinging to her was even more so.
In his memory, Heo Ok had a charisma so cold it could make a passing child cry.
“[This kid? Your piano?]”
As he said it, Shunji looked at Yeonwoo. Yeonwoo met his gaze without flinching.
My god.
A child staring straight at him without tears or fear.
A bit startled, Shunji stared at Yeonwoo and jolted.
Anything else aside, those eyes.
“[Your… kid? No, too young. Grandkid?]”
“[…Yes.]”
Had he sensed Heo Ok through the smartphone because of her child?
No.
The piano was on another level.
“[I can’t believe it.]”
Heo Ok replied.
“[Once you hear him play, you’ll never recover.]”
“[…Recover from what?]”
For a man who chased only talent and the money it brought…
“Yeonwoo, show him your piano.”
He’d cling to Yeonwoo for life.
He’d give anything—guts and gall—to release at least one album.
Yeonwoo sat at the piano again to prove himself to yet another person.
Grandma had said before coming here.
‘It might not be Wes Montgomery level, but you can learn from a good guitarist.’
She’d said recognition from him meant guitar lessons.
It was great news for Yeonwoo, who’d only self-taught.
But something felt off.
If he was really that good on guitar, his fairy should appear.
Sure enough, the moment they met, a fairy did emerge from him.
But this fairy was different.
Not blue or red.
‘Why are you yellow?’
It was a yellow fairy.
‘Do you play guitar?’
The yellow fairy just stared silently at Yeonwoo.
‘You’re judging too?’
Another test.
Why did adults love testing him so much?
Yeonwoo shook his head and began to play.
Soon, both the scary-looking grandpa and his fairy watched with eyes wide open.
* * *
That same night.
[That kid’s a genius.]
[No thoughts of an album?]
[Hiding that talent is a crime.]
[He needs to debut now.]
[He’ll make a fortune.]
Heo Ok sighed at Shunji’s messages and replied.
[Get ready to teach guitar.]
He’d been exhausting before, and he still was.
‘Want to block him.’
She wanted to cut contact and leave…
“Starting tomorrow, I’m learning guitar from Grandpa!”
But seeing Yeonwoo lying beside her, beaming with excitement, she couldn’t.
“That exciting?”
“I had people to learn piano and composing from, but guitar was just YouTube. It’s good, but kinda lacking. Lots of questions I can’t ask.”
Usually, he’d be asleep by now, overcome by drowsiness. But excitement kept him chattering like a lark.
Heo Ok just smiled and stroked his hair gently.
“By the way, Grandma, what’s for tomorrow? More tasty stuff?”
“Hmm, how about eel?”
“Eel?”
“Japan takes eel seriously. I bet you’ll love it.”
“Yes!!”
Excited about new food, Yeonwoo kept talking until he finally dozed off in her arms.
Heo Ok hugged the sleeping Yeonwoo tighter and sniffed his scent.
The pleasant baby smell.
The scent she’d regretted and longed for every day in the past.
Breathing it in, Heo Ok closed her eyes alongside him.
Even in sleep, she never let go of Yeonwoo in her arms.
As if vowing never to repeat the foolish mistake of leaving him behind.