Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Gifts and the Chase to Korea
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After learning that the fairy he thought would teach him guitar was actually savvy about adult circumstances.
Yeonwoo realized that no matter how good the music was, it couldn't always make money unconditionally.
Yeonwoo fell into deep thought.
Was it right to keep making songs that spawned hordes of yellow fairies led by Shunji's fairy, or should he stick to creating pieces that drew out the blue fairies like he was doing now?
After agonizing over it, Yeonwoo called his dad.
-Hey, son! Having fun in Japan?
"Yeah, I like it."
-Shouldn't you be heading home soon? Dad misses you a ton.
"Yeonwoo wants to go home now too. I'll ask Grandma. But Dad."
-Yeah?
"How much money is in my bank account?"
-Your account? Hmm, hold on.
A moment later, Yeonwoo felt relieved upon hearing the balance from his dad.
It was an amount so vast that Yeonwoo couldn't even fathom it.
According to his dad, just a bit more saving and they could buy the apartment they lived in now, but Yeonwoo had no real sense of what that meant.
"Could I buy over a hundred Invincible Force Robots?"
In any case, Yeonwoo understood it as enough money to get anything he wanted if he wished.
So, there was no need to get greedy for more cash, right?
He should just make the music he loved.
With that in mind...
"I don't want an album."
[What? Why? I told you, it's a chance to make a ton of money!]
Yeonwoo firmly rejected Shunji's words, which he'd brought up under the guise of guitar lessons.
"If an album comes out, my face will show up too."
[You think singers or performers without faces are rare? Just don't do any promo.]
Himari, relaying Shunji's point, added her own.
"Yeonwoo, if you make an album, you can keep it forever. Money isn't everything. Plus, there's the benefit of being able to hear your songs without playing them yourself."
Yeonwoo still shook his head.
Even without playing himself, he could always ask the blue fairies to perform his pieces anytime.
It was a concert just for Yeonwoo, one no one else could hear.
As talk of releasing an album kept coming up, Yeonwoo changed the subject.
"Himari Aunt, how's the song coming along?"
"My song? Oh, well..."
The mood shifted instantly.
Himari's face clouded over, and she clamped her mouth shut, while Shunji eyed her, wondering what was wrong.
"Having trouble?"
"Well... I made something, but it wasn't easy."
"Can I hear it?"
Himari hesitated at Yeonwoo's request.
Honestly, the piece had turned out just as she'd hoped.
But the one she'd have to show it to was Yeonwoo. She feared hearing something negative from this child genius.
If this genius rejected the song into which she'd poured her entire musical life and philosophy, that would be horrific in its own way.
[What's up? Why the holdup?]
[He wants to hear the tribute song I made for Teacher.]
[A tribute? You're something else. Heo Ok would hate that kind of thing.]
[It's a tribute, so making it is my call!!]
[Fair enough. So what's the problem? Just play the damn thing.]
[Haah...]
The old man turned businessman seemed to know nothing—absolutely zilch—about an artist's sensitivities.
[Fine, play it once. Isn't that why I came here, even if just for you? Keep this up, and it'll be 'Recluse Himari' instead of 'World's Himari.']
The issue was that he was her boss.
One of the two people in the world whom even the great Himari couldn't defy.
"Haah..."
Himari sighed but sat at the piano in Yeonwoo's stead.
"Yeonwoo, keep this in mind before you listen. It's not finished yet. Got it?"
"Yes."
After emphasizing that repeatedly, Himari closed her eyes and took a short, deep breath.
Then her performance began.
Grand yet with sharp edges in moments, the melody flowed out.
It perfectly captured Himari's impression of Heo Ok, transposed directly into music.
Yeonwoo listened silently to Himari's piece, observing the fairies' reactions.
The blue fairies were thoroughly enjoying her satisfying composition.
What about Shunji's fairy?
It glowed yellow, but tepidly.
Was it really so stingy with jazz?
Not quite.
It had definitely shone brightly for Himari's massive hit that topped the Melboard charts.
Regardless, Yeonwoo didn't like this piece.
"Aunt."
"Uh?"
Himari startled mid-performance and looked at Yeonwoo.
"The melody's good, but it feels awkward because it doesn't match the image of our grandma that you and I have in mind."
Exactly.
Yeonwoo couldn't sense his grandma in this song at all.
It was billed as a tribute to Heo Ok, but it only portrayed a cold, stern version—a past grandma Yeonwoo didn't know—leaving him unsatisfied.
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Grandma's warm to me, but this just makes her sound scary."
"Hmm..."
"How about this? Play it again."
At Yeonwoo's words, Himari gladly restarted the piece.
After a few measures, Yeonwoo joined in beside her.
The moment Yeonwoo added his playing, the music shifted from cold and strict to something warm and emanating.
While Himari floundered in surprise, Shunji told her,
[Gradually fade your sound. Let the kid play solo.]
[...Yes!]
Himari followed Shunji's instructions, softly tapering her notes as she pulled back.
What remained was a melody infused with warmth.
Himari realized this was Heo Ok as Yeonwoo perceived her.
Finishing his part, Yeonwoo looked at Himari and said,
"Now it's the grandma that you and I both see."
"...Yeah."
[Tsk tsk, from a strict mom to an endlessly doting grandma to her grandson after the years passed. Great expression. Isn't that Heo Ok right now?]
[President's right.]
Himari said that, then looked at Yeonwoo again.
Now she couldn't doubt Heo Ok's claim that Yeonwoo had mastered piano in just half a year.
In their short time together, this child had advanced at a terrifying rate.
Drawing out emotions, viewing themes from multiple angles, composing and arranging them—all of it.
With this learning speed, how incredible a musician would he become as an adult?
'No wonder Teacher kept him from being tied down to just jazz.'
This child couldn't be limited to jazz.
Someday, every music genre might owe him a debt of gratitude.
Feeling any jealousy or inferiority?
That only arises when there's something to compare.
If she was the earth, this kid was beyond the sky—outer space.
Inferiority complex?
That'd make her a fool with no sense of place.
"But what do we do? Yeonwoo made such a great song, now I feel unworthy making one for Teacher."
"No."
"Huh?"
"This is something Aunt Himari and I made together."
"Does that count?"
"I couldn't have done it without Aunt Himari."
"The way he talks..."
As pretty-spoken as he is cute.
Himari hugged Yeonwoo tight. From her embrace, Yeonwoo said,
"You release this one, Aunt Himari."
"Me?"
"Yeah, a gift. And..."
Yeonwoo played a medley chaining together songs he'd made in Japan—about ramen, udon, sushi, and eel—then said,
"This too, as a gift."
"...All of these?"
"Yes, you release them, Aunt."
"Isn't it better if you just drop your own album?"
"I don't want to. And honestly, I was gonna give you a few decent finished ones anyway. You taught Yeonwoo. Lesson fee!"
"Some lesson fee—way too precious and grateful."
"Hehe."
Yeonwoo beamed innocently.
The sight moved Himari to tears, her nose tingling.
"If I'm dropping an album... I'll definitely include them."
"Yes. But put the composer as Yuin. That's my nickname when I compose."
"Mm, I will."
Seeing the two hugging and cooing, Shunji scowled and said,
[Putting on a show, you two. What's that about?]
[Yeonwoo gifted me songs. For teaching him composition.]
[What? Songs? What about me? I taught guitar too!]
Hearing that relayed, Yeonwoo shook his head firmly.
[He says he didn't learn anything. Thanks for introducing electric guitar, though.]
[No, no, I'll keep teaching from now on, so gimme some songs too? Like a prepayment?]
Knowing Yeonwoo's composing skills well, Shunji eyed him hungrily like a hyena, licking his chops.
But Yeonwoo was resolute.
[Won't learn anymore.]
[Why?! What's he saying? Korea... Kan-koku?]
[Yes, he's going back to Korea.]
At Yeonwoo's words, Shunji shot up from his seat.
What? Leaving for Korea just like that?
[No way!!]
Shunji bellowed, and Yeonwoo hid straight behind Himari.
[I can't let you go like this...!]
Shunji advanced on Himari and Yeonwoo with a vibe like he'd kidnap him on the spot.
That's when it happened.
Thwack!
Shunji reeled from a sharp blow to the back of his head.
[What crazy...!]
Turning with a demon-like glare, Shunji's face changed instantly.
[Who are you to say no? Gone senile in your old age?]
Because the one who'd smacked the back of his head was Heo Ok.
[Himari, I'm off shopping. Let's grab dinner later.]
"Yes, sure!"
Heo Ok breezed past the stunned Shunji, took Yeonwoo's hand, and left the studio.
[Hyah, that damn old hag's hand is still as sharp as ever.]
Himari, forgetting her fear as Shunji merely rubbed his head without real anger, asked him,
[Why can't you stand up to Teacher at all?]
[What? When did I...?]
[You just got smacked in the head and aren't even mad.]
At that, Shunji unconsciously touched the long scar etched across his forehead and said,
[Because if I push the wrong buttons, I get it.]
[What? What do you...]
[See this forehead scar?]
Himari nodded.
The scar on his forehead was practically Shunji's trademark.
No one knew how he'd gotten it, but some said it was a badge from battling yakuza who once dominated entertainment, others that it came from fighting gangs or mafia in America.
[...That damn old hag gave me this.]
Learning the origin of the scar no one dared ask about out of fear, Himari unwittingly gaped, covering her mouth with both hands.
[There's a reason that old hag was called Black Widow in America.]
Leaving Himari behind, Shunji reminisced about the past.
About young Heo Ok, who, at the mere word "Chosunjing," screamed "makkari" in Korean and smashed a beer bottle over his head.
[Man, that was... scary.]
Heo Ok back then, full of venom, crossing to America penniless and family-less.
Thinking back now, that Heo Ok felt like a youthful dream to Shunji.
Was that why?
[Call the manager and book me a flight to Korea.]
[Yes?]
[I, Datemura Shunji, am not the man to let a big fish slip away before my eyes. We're going to Korea.]
His declaration of heading to Korea carried the grim resolve of a general facing battle.