Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: A Teacher the Yellow Fairy Likes More Than the Blue Fairy!!
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A teacher that the yellow fairy likes more than the blue fairy!!
That means she's someone who could make it as a singer, so why on earth is she working as a teacher?
Come to think of it, Aunt had said something like that.
She said Teacher seemed like someone who'd properly trained in singing.
But in our country, there are so many people who've learned to sing, and just as many who sing well, so it's hard for them to shine.
Yeonwoo couldn't understand why someone who sang so well couldn't succeed as a singer, but seeing Teacher, whom Shuji's fairy was coveting and who was emitting yellow light and fairies like crazy, he realized there really were people who hadn't gotten a chance, or whose paths had gone wrong.
Then what if I made Teacher into a singer?
He felt like he could make her succeed, just as the yellow fairy was so sure of.
Aunt talked about money, but wouldn't that be solved once they signed some contract or whatever with Grandpa Shuji?
‘Then first, someone from Grandpa Shuji's company needs to come.’
Oblivious to the fact that Shuji was coming to Korea soon, Yeonwoo hoped that someone from Shuji's company, JOP, would hurry up and arrive.
“Yeonwoo, what was that song just now?”
Unaware of Yeonwoo's thoughts, Chae Hayeon met his eyes and asked.
“Poop!”
At that, the kids all started giggling, saying poop, poop.
“It's a fun song. Can you keep playing more?”
“Of course.”
Yeonwoo sat back down at the piano and played the whole sonata for making kids laugh, from the first movement straight through to the fourth.
Hayeon was speechless.
Just from the title, anyone would think it was made by a six-year-old, but the melody itself made her wonder if a six-year-old could really have composed it.
‘No, even my classmates from school couldn't make something like this.’
Her major was vocals, but having graduated from practical music, she knew what composition was all about.
Even the composition majors couldn't create a piece like this.
And Yeonwoo made it?
She couldn't believe it, but even seeing a six-year-old perform it right in front of her eyes beforehand, she wouldn't have believed it.
‘Shouldn't Yeonwoo be sent to a gifted academy or something?’
Of course, sending a kid to a place like that wasn't cheap.
But looking at Yeonwoo's family, money didn't seem to be an issue, so why send him to an ordinary daycare like this?
Shouldn't talent like this be nurtured early?
No, it's meddling.
She might just get scolded for butting in.
No, but wouldn't it be better to at least give it a shot?
While she agonized over it, Yeonwoo finished playing, looked up at Chae Hayeon, and suddenly asked.
“Teacher, don't you ever want to be a singer?”
“Huh? What?”
“I asked if you don't want to be a singer.”
“Me? As a singer?”
She wanted to.
That's why she was doing YouTube with her colleague and friend Jo Soyeon right now.
But excluding the video of Yeonwoo playing, it was still just a tiny channel hovering around ten thousand views.
So the dream of becoming a singer, which felt so impossibly far away even if she wanted it...
“Singer...”
Even though it was just a child's question, it was enough to make Chae Hayeon feel dazed.
“I want to be a... singer...”
Just as she was about to answer yes, entranced like that.
“Teacher Chae! Time to prepare lunch!”
“Ah, yes!!”
Startled back to her senses by the director's voice, Chae Hayeon gave Yeonwoo an awkward smile and hurriedly left the classroom.
She thought after feeding them lunch, putting them down for naps, and getting through the afternoon schedule, she'd finally relax, but that's when teachers had to start on daily logs and administrative work, sometimes pulling all-nighters.
And they had to handle drop-offs too.
“Okay, salute!”
“Bye, Teacher!”
Excluding the kids staying for after-hours care, one by one they took their guardians' hands and headed home, and before long, it was Yeonwoo's time to go too.
“Hello, Aunt.”
“Yes, Teacher. Yeonwoo!!”
Grandma or Dad handled drop-off, but at some point, Aunt started picking him up.
“Aunt!”
Yeonwoo threw himself into her arms.
Chae Hayeon found herself smiling at the sight without realizing it.
“She's a total softie for him, but our Yeonwoo really is cute, right?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Totally.”
“Does he cause any trouble at daycare?”
“No way. All the kids wish they could be like Yeonwoo. Plus, he puts on daily concerts, and the kids love it so much. They all quiet down nicely, which is great for me too.”
Hearing that, Jiyeong ruffled Yeonwoo's hair wildly.
“Grandma said playing piano too hard could cause tennis elbow, so be careful!”
“I want to, but the kids keep asking me to play.”
“You still have to hold back.”
Hayeon, who'd been listening to Jiyeong, cautiously spoke up.
“Um, Aunt.”
“Yes?”
“Yeonwoo played a composition he made today.”
“Oh, you don't mean... Poop?”
Jiyeong couldn't hide her embarrassment, but Hayeon was serious.
“I laughed at the title, but when I heard it played, the level was so high. Honestly, even his piano playing isn't something you'd expect from a six-year-old. Yeonwoo seems to have, well, um... a ton of talent in music.”
“Yeonwoo? Yeah, our Yeonwoo is special like that.”
“No, it's not something to just brush off lightly...”
“I know, our Yeonwoo stands out.”
Truth be told, plenty of parents go around saying their kid is special and talented.
Hayeon had always felt secondhand embarrassment for them.
But Yeonwoo was different. He really was exceptional.
“Maybe... instead of daycare, a gifted school or something...?”
“A gifted school? They'd never handle him. He'd be bored out of his mind.”
“Yes?”
“Even if you gathered a hundred gifted kids, they wouldn't measure up to Yeonwoo.”
Chae Hayeon had nothing to say to that.
Deny it, and it actually seemed plausible; agree, and she might come off as rude.
Still, when she thought proper education would be best for him.
“I get what you're worried about, Teacher. Don't worry too much. This kid's grandma was in practical music in Japan or something? Anyway, she was a music professor. And I'm in producing myself, so no need to go anywhere.”
“Oh my.”
At those words, Chae Hayeon's face flushed bright red in an instant.
No wonder the kid was exceptional—they were a family of musicians.
That elegant-looking grandma had been a professor at a music college.
“I overstepped. Of course you already have it all figured out.”
“No, it just shows how much you care about our Yeonwoo. We'll get going now... Huh? Yeonwoo, what?”
She'd planned to hurry off to spare the embarrassed Hayeon further awkwardness, but when Yeonwoo tugged at her, Jiyeong looked down at him.
“Aunt, give Teacher your business card.”
“My business card? Sure, okay.”
Jiyeong pulled a card from her wallet and handed it to Teacher Hayeon.
“Here’s my card. My studio’s right next door, so if anything urgent comes up with Yeonwoo, it’s faster to call me than Grandma or Dad.”
“Okay, then t-take care! Bye, Yeonwoo! See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah! Bye!”
Chae Hayeon watched aunt and nephew walk away, then belatedly checked the card.
SSHIN
Producer Shin Jiyeong.
“Shin Jiyeong...”
Weird.
She'd heard the name somewhere before.
As she headed back into the daycare, curiosity got the better of her, and she searched Shin Jiyeong's name.
“Ah...!”
What a coincidence.
Shin Jiyeong—she was, astonishingly, a senior from Chae Hayeon's practical music department.
A senior way ahead of her, but the reason she'd heard the name was simple.
She was a successful alumna.
A massively successful one, to the point where some professors talked about her nonstop.
In this industry, music grads were a dime a dozen, and successful alumni were a tiny fraction, so the school bragged nonstop just about pro debuts.
That's how they built buzz and attracted students.
Shin Jiyeong was a pretty iconic figure for composition or producing hopefuls at Hayeon's college.
“And she’s his aunt? No wonder I worried for nothing.”
She felt even more embarrassed for meddling.
On the other hand, seeing Shin Jiyeong stirred envy.
How could she not envy someone surviving and thriving in a world she'd never break into?
Back then, it was just envy and bitterness, but now it was a little different.
She'd started YouTube, and now she had hope that someday she could at least set one foot in that world.
“...Someday, me too...”
* * *
“Yeonwoo, why'd you suddenly tell me to give her my card?”
“Because Teacher sings well.”
“Yeah, she does sing well.”
“Yeah, once we sign with Grandpa Shuji, I'm gonna make Teacher Hayeon a singer.”
At that, Shin Jiyeong's eyes went wide.
“What? That's it? You said she wasn't that good before.”
“That was comparing her to Uncle Kim Beomsin.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, compared to Senior Beomsin, everyone gets downgraded.”
Yeonwoo nodded.
Kim Beomsin was unique.
He'd watched videos of countless singers so far, but he hadn't seen many Korean singers as amazing.
And seeing him sing live up close had made a huge impact.
In six-year-old Yeonwoo's world, Kim Beomsin was currently the best singer.
That's why he even had his own clone fairy.
Yeonwoo looked at Kim Beomsin's fairy.
Thinking of Kim Beomsin made it puff up proudly, like it was about itself.
Well, sure, if the main body gets praised, the clone feels good too.
But wait a second.
If it's Kim Beomsin's fairy, the one that even corrected the singing of those Hadass kids...
‘If I start practicing singing, will it eventually give me some of that amazing singing ability?’
As if waiting for it, Kim Beomsin's fairy lit up its eyes sparklingly and nodded.
“Singing...”
Singing?
Me?
He'd never even considered it in his six years of life.
Back when he couldn't speak, the very idea of singing hadn't even crossed his mind.
‘Singing...’
For once, Kim Beomsin's fairy floated up and hovered around Yeonwoo.
It was like it was saying, ‘Come on, come on, give it a try!’
Yeonwoo wavered but soon shook his head.
Kim Beomsin's fairy made a crying face, like why!!
‘Embarrassing...’
Yeonwoo was still shy about putting himself out there.
Kim Beomsin's fairy wore a dejected expression and vanished somewhere.
Yeah, for now, instruments are better than singing.
Thinking that, Yeonwoo got up from his seat.
“Huh? Where you going, Yeonwoo?”
“Working on a song.”
“Have a snack first. Here, apple.”
“Okay.”
Yeonwoo sat back down.
Yeonwoo liked fruit. Especially crunchy apples the most.
As he nibbled the apple bit by bit with his front teeth, savoring the crunch.
Thud thud thud.
Someone pounded hard on the studio front door.
Aunt and nephew's eyes turned to the entrance at the same time.
“Come here!”
A voice with clumsy pronunciation came from outside.
That raspy old man's voice was...
“Grandpa... Shuji?”
It was Shuji.
Yeonwoo, who'd been waiting for someone from JOP, lit up with joy at Shuji coming himself and jumped up, running to the door.
“Grandpa!”
[Oh, Yeonwoo. I tried imitating from a historical drama] Come here [How's that? Pronunciation okay?]
The nearly eighty-year-old man easily scooped Yeonwoo up as he spoke.
Yeonwoo beamed and replied.
“I can't understand Japanese at all!!”
Oh no.
He'd rushed over and forgotten the interpreter.
Realizing they couldn't communicate, Shuji panicked and said.
[Where's your grandma?] Uh... Grandmother?
Shuji hastily looked for Heo Ok.