Chapter 8
Chapter 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: My Kid's Music is Different
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jiyeong played the song that Yeonwoo had composed and his mom had performed.
"Whoa, that's proper jazz."
She must have caught the jazz bug from sticking so close to Grandma.
It was unique, though. No, it fit perfectly.
It felt exactly like what jazz would sound like if a six-year-old kid made it.
That didn't mean the song was on a child's level by any means.
It was so difficult that even she struggled to play it.
She could tell just from looking at the sheet music...
"Did Yeonwoo really make this?"
His mom had acknowledged him as a genius, so she'd been prepared to some extent, but she hadn't expected this.
Yeonwoo, however, wasn't hung up on any of that. He was just staring at the laptop screen with a look of wonder, right by Jiyeong's side.
Right, now I have to get this genius to acknowledge my skills.
Who knew pretending to be the nephew's teacher would be this tough?
Jiyeong's fingers began dancing across the keys.
Taking Yeonwoo's jazz as the base with money chords, she whipped up a sleek dance track.
A song perfectly suited for a girl group to sing and dance to, matching the current trends, came together in an instant.
"Here, let's listen."
Jiyeong unplugged her earphones and played it for everyone to hear.
At that moment, the jazz fairies appeared, only to look flustered.
This... was jazz?
While they hesitated, new fairies started pushing through them.
More refined—no, younger ones. Yeah, straight-up MZ generation fairies.
The jazz fairies eyed them warily but began doing the swing dance.
The MZ fairies, however, shoved past them.
Basing it on swing, they danced something more dynamic and polished.
The light they emitted was different from the jazz fairies' too.
More flashy, in all sorts of colors, captivating Yeonwoo's heart.
But as they say, tuning's end is purity.
No matter how much she rearranged it into a new genre, she couldn't ignore the foundation.
The jazz fairies quickly reclaimed their spot, turning the others into mere background.
Yeonwoo smiled contentedly at the sight but felt a pang for the new fairies.
He wanted to create a stage just for them.
But first.
Yeonwoo's gaze turned to the laptop.
Everything his aunt had arranged was stored there.
A magical device that created virtual instruments, cut and pasted music, sped it up or slowed it down—did all of it.
Dad does pointless(?) hard stuff like that every day with one of those.
Without realizing it, Yeonwoo reached for the mouse.
Jiyeong watched him.
But for Yeonwoo, who didn't even know the letter C in computer, doing anything with the mouse was too hard.
Seeing him stuck, making a pouty face, Jiyeong burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing ever.
Yeonwoo puffed out his cheeks at his aunt.
Looking at her sulky nephew, Jiyeong pulled something out.
A tablet.
"Here, Yeonwoo. It's not as good as the program in this computer, but this has a nice app too."
"......"
Once Yeonwoo showed interest, Jiyeong sat him on her lap and quickly taught him how to use it.
Unlike using a mouse, keyboard, and MIDI keyboard, the tablet and app she gave him let him do everything with his fingers, so even if he didn't master it completely, he picked up the basics fast.
After that, Yeonwoo ignored both his aunt and grandma, flopping onto his bed and fiddling with the virtual instruments his aunt had bought a ton of, playing them and imprinting their sounds in his ears.
Then, through YouTube, he listened to the pop songs and jazz she'd taught him about, recalling the instrument sounds he'd heard.
He hadn't listened to many, but the melodies and rhythms of pop songs started coming to him naturally.
All the way until evening, when Dad was due home.
"Yeonwoo, Daddy's home."
"Oppa’s here?!"
"Huh? Why are you back so early?"
"I flew home 'cause I missed Yeonwoo!!"
"Oh yeah? Where's Yeonwoo?"
"He's holed up in his room, deep in his hobby."
"Hobby?"
Jihoon tilted his head and stepped into the room.
Yeonwoo was face-down, staring at the tablet, legs crossed and swinging them up and down.
"Yeonwoo?"
Yeonwoo, who hadn't noticed Dad come in, jumped up at the sight of him and threw himself into his arms.
Jihoon grinned wide without thinking as the baby scent hit him full force.
Jiyeong, who had come in with him and watched the scene, stuck out her tongue.
"I thought this family had no smiles, but Yeonwoo brings them all out. He's a total comedian."
"Shut up."
"What? You see your little sister after so long and instead of being happy, it's 'shut up'? Huh?"
Ignoring Jiyeong, Jihoon looked at Yeonwoo with the gentlest expression in the world and asked.
"What were you up to, my Yeonwoo?"
At Dad's question, Yeonwoo grabbed the tablet from the bed and showed it to Jihoon.
"Hm? What's this?"
Yeonwoo gestured to wait a sec, then fiddled with the tablet.
A lively melody, full of that childlike bounciness, flowed out.
"Is this a MIDI program?"
Jihoon looked at Jiyeong.
She'd come today and shown MIDI to Yeonwoo?
Jihoon, who wasn't big on music, shot her a not-great look, but he didn't let it show to Yeonwoo.
If the kid liked it, he'd do anything.
That was that, though...
"Nice song? Simple, but the melody's really good. Who made this? You? It's too childish to be yours..."
"...Not me."
Jiyeong stared at Yeonwoo with a blank face.
Four hours after teaching him basic MIDI app controls.
He'd spent a while watching and listening, then made a short but complete song.
Yeah, she knew a six-year-old could compose.
But that was from listening to jazz by Grandma.
The song playing now was straight-up modern pop with money chords—a dance track.
She'd played it for him once, he'd listened to a few more on his own, then plugged in the money chords and made his own.
"Are geniuses supposed to absorb this fast?"
"...Genius?"
Jihoon looked puzzled, so Jiyeong shot him an even more puzzled look.
"You didn't know? Your son's no joke."
"......So how'd you find out?"
Seeing Jihoon's face harden, Jiyeong hesitated before answering.
"While playing with Mom... she said he composed jazz... Uh, so..."
Jihoon shot up from his seat and headed out.
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"Did you teach Yeonwoo music?"
Heo Ok, who was sitting reading a book, set down her glasses and looked at Jihoon.
His face was a complicated mix.
Anger, maybe. Sadness, perhaps. Even fear.
Seeing that expression, Heo Ok suddenly felt a sharp pain squeezing her chest.
But she kept a calm face and said casually.
"No."
"Then..."
"I just played it for him since he liked it."
"Just played?"
Heo Ok glanced toward Yeonwoo's room, then said softly.
"Your wife... I mean, Yeonwoo's mom must have played piano for him a lot."
Jihoon recalled the past.
Yeah, that's right.
His mom loved piano and often played for little Yeonwoo.
Even after she passed, she must have somehow kept playing, and Yeonwoo missed it.
Jihoon thought of his late wife, fighting back the rising sadness.
If he broke down, how would Yeonwoo feel watching?
Jihoon took a deep breath and looked at his mom.
"...Please... play more for him. Music. Don't hold back like you did with me."
"...I will."
Heo Ok said that, put her glasses back on, and returned to her book. Then she turned to watch Jihoon head back to his son.
A flicker of sadness and regret crossed Heo Ok's face.
* * *
With Jiyeong's arrival, Yeonwoo's days completely changed.
He no longer asked Grandma to play piano.
His days started and ended with the tablet.
He'd listen to songs on YouTube forever on Grandma's tablet, then tinker with the MIDI app on his aunt's.
Copying those songs like a ghost.
"Man..."
Jiyeong watched Yeonwoo at home, clicking her tongue in amazement.
"Yeonwoo's mastered the MIDI program, huh?"
Yeonwoo didn't respond to Jiyeong's question. He was too absorbed to hear.
Incredible focus.
Jiyeong got chills watching him.
Just six years old, and this kid was a real genius.
He pulled off the impossible so effortlessly.
Like he was saying ordinary people had no business understanding geniuses.
Sure, a six-year-old mastering a MIDI program (even if it was a simple app) was shocking enough, but recreating songs perfectly after one listen was next-level.
This kid dissected the chord progressions, instruments—everything—just from listening.
If that was it, fine.
People who know MIDI can break down and recreate songs quick; geniuses just do it in one go.
But Yeonwoo didn't stop there.
He tweaked the perfect copy.
And it turned into something way better, even to Jiyeong—no, anyone's ears.
The original artist would get chills and despair hearing it.
Overwhelmed by genius talent.
That's when it happened.
After casually remixing a song, Yeonwoo turned around.
"Yeonwoo, you like making songs?"
Nod nod.
"You like dance tracks?"
At that, Yeonwoo thought a moment, then shook his head.
"Huh? Don't like?"
Shake shake.
Yeonwoo mouthed it clearly.
"Huh? What... bor... boring?"
Nod nod.
Bored already? In this world?
"A few days in and you're bored? What? All the same? Man... got nothing to say."
Pop music trends had become about following whoever led, piling clichés on clichés, twisting them with flair, splitting beats slyly, or copying other genres.
Even the chords were the same old money chords.
For Yeonwoo, just starting to absorb music at scary speed, pop getting boring made sense.
But pop wasn't just dance tracks.
"Wanna try ballads then? You've heard them already? Yeah?"
Listening and making songs all day, it'd be weirder if he hadn't.
Bored meant losing interest.
Was she losing this future leader of pop music like this?
"No, but... it's only been a few days. Bored already... isn't that a bit much?"
Jiyeong wanted to keep him from drifting from pop.
But her worry was unfounded.
Yeonwoo played a song.
"Hm?"
Unfamiliar music played.
Fast beat, summer-vibe dance track based on money chords, but not leading the current trends.
Unlike modern beat-heavy songs, the melody was rich.
The structure went against the times.
But the core beat was addictively strong.
Replace melody with vocals and package it right?
No exaggeration—this could make it in the industry.
"...Did you make this, Yeonwoo?"
Nod nod.
Yeonwoo nodded, then mouthed again.
'Boring.'
"...Yeah, fair enough."
No wonder it's boring when you churn out stuff like this.
Jiyeong felt shivers turn to full-body thrills.