Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Grandmother Fairy's Lesson
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Heo Ok's time, which had always dragged on slowly, began to flow a little faster once her son and grandson entered her life, her home.
Four days had already passed since her son's family moved in.
Heo Ok's usual routine—going to bed around 4 a.m. and not waking until around 11— was gradually changing.
“Awake already? Shall we eat?”
*Nod nod.*
It was because of the boy in front of her, silently nodding his head—her own grandson.
She wasn't sure if it was because he was young, but the boy hardly slept.
Whenever his dad got up early in the dawn, he followed suit and started his day.
That was at 6 a.m.
A time when Heo Ok had only been asleep for two hours on a normal day.
Unable to leave the child alone, Heo Ok tried her best to adjust her own pattern.
In that half-asleep daze, as she headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, she caught a whiff of food and froze.
What was that?
Had her son prepared breakfast and left?
Rubbing her sleepy eyes and belatedly putting on her glasses, she saw toast, jam, butter, and milk on the table.
Passing by the frozen Heo Ok, Yeonwoo sat down, put two slices of bread into the toaster, and spread jam on the already golden-brown toast.
The way the not-yet-six-year-old boy applied the jam was impressively neat.
After carefully covering every bit with jam, Yeonwoo placed the toast on a plate and slid it toward Heo Ok.
“Hm? For me to eat?”
*Nod nod.*
“Thank you... But did you prepare this yourself, by any chance?”
It was neatly done, but there was a certain clumsiness that made it hard to believe an adult had made it.
Sure enough, Yeonwoo nodded shyly.
Good heavens.
“What a good boy. But you don't need to do this. At your age, you should just play and have fun without a care.”
Yeonwoo simply smiled.
“Still, I'll enjoy it. Thank you.”
Yeonwoo smiled even brighter, retrieved the freshly popped toast, slathered it with a heap of butter, then added more jam on top.
He stuffed it into his mouth and made a blissful face.
Watching closely, the child found happiness, wonder, and joy even in these small, trivial things.
And the moment he expressed those vivid emotions most openly was right now, while eating.
No one knew how tough his life had been, but this little boy was utterly sincere when it came to food.
He ate with such delight and gusto that, in just a few days, his cheeks had plumped up like those of any other child his age.
She herself was one to eat lightly and skip breakfast altogether, but his eating made her feel so heartened that she unwittingly brought the toast to her mouth.
With a crisp crunch, the child's gaze turned to Heo Ok.
Under that expectant stare, Heo Ok said,
“…It's delicious.”
*Beam.*
The child's beaming smile was so adorable it made even Heo Ok—who wasn't particularly fond of kids—feel her heart drop.
Just seeing that smile could awaken an appetite she didn't have and make her eat more.
After the two finished breakfast that way.
While Heo Ok washed the dishes and cleaned up, Yeonwoo went to the living room and gazed at his grandmother's piano.
Ever since the tuner visited a few days ago, no more Red Fairies emerged from the piano.
It had been a fun friend, and it was a shame not to see it again here, but thanks to that, he could now hear perfect performances without any dissonant notes.
I wonder when Grandma will come out.
Yeonwoo's gaze turned toward the kitchen.
Just then, Heo Ok emerged from the kitchen, having finished the dishes.
Heo Ok looked at her grandson, eyes sparkling brightly in front of her piano.
That intense gaze.
She couldn't resist those eyes that seemed ready to burst into tears if she didn't play.
With a sigh, Heo Ok sat down at the piano.
She might have played more for Yeonwoo since retiring than she ever did before.
Was it good that her stiff fingers were loosening up thanks to it?
What was the point of retiring if this was how it turned out?
“Alright, what should I play today? Should I pick, or is there something you want to hear?”
*Something I want to hear.*
As Yeonwoo mouthed the words, Heo Ok asked as if she'd expected it.
“Then, as always… swing?”
Jazz symbolized freedom, but over its long history, it had branched into many subgenres.
Among them, Yeonwoo loved swing the most.
Seeing him nod vigorously up and down, her hands produced a fluid swing rhythm.
Yeonwoo wore an entranced expression to the lively swing melody.
It was remarkable.
Swing had been born and peaked in popularity over half a century ago.
It was absolutely not a song kids would like.
But Yeonwoo especially loved swing among all jazz.
What Heo Ok didn't know was that, in Yeonwoo's eyes, the moment swing flowed out, countless fairies popped up, dancing the swing dance to the beat.
The fairies emitting blue light from all directions as they swung, combined with his grandmother's dazzling performance, was enough to captivate Yeonwoo's heart.
Touched by Yeonwoo's enraptured gaze—or perhaps it was occupational habit—Heo Ok found herself playing with inspired fervor, as if possessed.
But there were limits.
She was old, and her body no longer kept up with long sessions.
As her hands stopped, Yeonwoo looked disappointed.
Gazing at him, Heo Ok said,
“Sorry, but I'm tired and can't do more. Want to listen to the LP instead?”
*Nod nod.*
Heo Ok took Yeonwoo into the master bedroom.
A space no one but her could enter, but over the past few days, Yeonwoo had become the exception.
She took an LP from the shelf in one corner and placed it on her vintage player, which had a classic charm from its age, then hit play.
With the distinctive crackle of an old LP, the voice of her favorite jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald, flowed out with *Misty*.
Savoring her song over the gentle piano backdrop, Heo Ok unknowingly fell asleep.
She still hadn't adjusted to the changed sleep schedule.
Even after Grandma fell asleep, Yeonwoo continued listening to her voice alongside the fairies gliding over the LP like skaters.
It was a good song, but a bit boring for young Yeonwoo.
Yeonwoo glanced stealthily at his grandma, then got up, draped a blanket over her, left the master bedroom, and headed to the living room.
The piano was there.
He wanted to touch it again, but Dad had said it was Grandma's most precious possession and not to touch it carelessly, so he hadn't since.
But something was odd.
The piano was emitting a faint glow.
Afterglow, maybe?
Even after performances ended, the fairies lingered around the piano before vanishing, but he'd never seen the piano itself glow like one of them.
What on earth was this?
Intrigued, Yeonwoo approached the piano.
Then his eyes and mouth flew wide open.
Beneath the blue light, a fairy he'd never seen before revealed itself.
Unlike the hazy previous fairies, this one had sharp features and emitted a vivid glow.
And...
*'Grandma?'*
The fairy looked just like Grandma in cosplay.
Black turtleneck and slacks, gold-rimmed glasses—the whole look.
The fairy even mimicked her haughty, aloof expression as it stood and gazed at Yeonwoo.
Meeting Yeonwoo's eyes, the Grandmother Fairy looked around, then pointed to the piano bench.
As if telling him to sit.
When Yeonwoo hesitated, the Grandmother Fairy pointed to the bench again.
Reluctantly, Yeonwoo sat at the piano. The Grandmother Fairy then pointed to one key.
Middle C.
*'Play... this?'*
As he gestured questioningly in his mind, the Grandmother Fairy nodded.
Yeonwoo cautiously touched the key.
He pressed so lightly and slowly that no sound came out.
The Grandmother Fairy shook her head sternly.
*'Play it to make sound?'*
This time, she nodded.
Yeonwoo pressed the key again.
A clear note rang through the living room.
The Grandmother Fairy pointed to the next key.
C, then D, E, F, G, A, B, high C.
He played them in sequence.
Yeonwoo didn't know note names, but he remembered everything by sound.
The Grandmother Fairy nodded, then lined up suddenly appeared fairies in front of the keys.
What was she planning?
While Yeonwoo watched curiously, the Grandmother Fairy clapped twice. One fairy dove into a key like plunging into a pool.
The key glowed blue.
As Yeonwoo stared blankly, the Grandmother Fairy pointed at it with her finger.
Yeonwoo didn't hesitate any longer.
He firmly pressed the key the Grandmother Fairy indicated.
More fairies dove into keys in turn, and Yeonwoo's hands busily chased them.
Awkward and slow, but following instructions with all his heart.
After one phrase ended, the Grandmother Fairy made him play the same keys again.
Twice, three times, until his fingers grew familiar.
Yeonwoo perked up his ears.
This was... swing.
Yeonwoo himself was playing his favorite swing jazz.
Plain and simple, without his grandma's flashy technique, but unmistakably swing.
Eyes sparkling, Yeonwoo looked at the Grandmother Fairy.
*'Next...! Next, next!!'*
As he cheered excitedly in his mind, the Grandmother Fairy pointed to the keys with her aloof expression.
Fairies dove in.
Following them, it was the same melody as before.
Disappointment was fleeting; this time, it required pressing more keys, too many for Yeonwoo's young fingers to handle easily.
It was flashy and rich, but Yeonwoo realized he couldn't pull it off yet.
He wasn't familiar enough with playing piano.
As he looked up at the Grandmother Fairy with a pout, she nodded reassuringly and pointed to the keys again.
She seemed to say he had to keep playing to master this piece.
In the end, it all came down to practice and more practice.
Yeonwoo didn't grasp all her intentions, but his own motivation surged, and he diligently chased the keys under her guidance.
And that sight...
Was being watched by Heo Ok, who had dozed off in the master bedroom and just woken up.
Heo Ok watched Yeonwoo produce what was unmistakably swing—something utterly unfamiliar yet real—and showed the most dramatic change in expression since meeting him.
It was shock.
A mere six years old.
A child not even in elementary school yet, playing swing—it was impossible not to be shocked.