Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: A Dream of Support
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‘If you want to do jazz, then do it. Why worry about what other people think?’
‘But Professor will be disappointed….’
‘What does Professor matter? He’s not the one living your future for you.’
‘….’
‘If you want to do jazz, then do it. I’ll support you.’
Heo Ok had a dream after a long time.
How long had it been since her husband appeared in her dreams? Or was this the first time?
In the past, her husband encouraging her as she tried to abandon her classical major and pursue jazz.
Yes, he had quietly supported her like that.
In the 80s, he was so domestic—a man no one would expect from that era—that he took care of the children in her place, allowing her to focus on jazz.
But as her talent became hard to contain in Korea, and her dreams reached for even higher places, things began to change bit by bit.
‘Should I have stopped you when you said you wanted to study abroad in Japan?’
She could still clearly see her husband’s bitter smile as he looked at her, who wasn’t satisfied with Japan and wanted to go to America.
They say when bodies grow distant, hearts follow.
Of course, she had been the most negligent, obsessed with music, but her husband was the one who brought up divorce.
That’s how they became complete strangers, and Heo Ok, pretending to be crazy, even turned her back on her children to devote herself solely to jazz.
Someday… someday, when she succeeded, her children would benefit from it too—that’s what she believed.
Looking back now, it was the most foolish, immature, and selfish choice in the world.
‘If I could go back, I’d never make that choice again.’
A nail of remorse, guilt, and apology was still lodged deep in one corner of her heart, refusing to come out.
“Hoo….”
Heo Ok sighed, rose from her seat, straightened her clothes, and glanced at the wall clock.
11 a.m.
How long had it been since she’d woken up this late?
Ever since she started living with her grandson, she’d been waking up in the mornings, so it really had been ages.
She dragged her heavier-than-usual body out of the room.
The house was quiet and empty.
At some point, everyone had gotten busy, and by this hour, she was the only one home.
She headed to the kitchen for a glass of water but paused.
On the dining table sat a salad and fruit. And atop it, a note.
[Grandma, eat a proper breakfast. From Yeonwoo]
Heo Ok smiled without realizing it. She had no choice but to smile.
A sinful life, yet in her later years, such a blessing appeared.
For Heo Ok, all she could do was give thanks.
“Since my grandson prepared it, I have to eat it all.”
She had no appetite, but Heo Ok ate the salad and fruit while turning on her tablet PC.
While Yeonwoo used the tablet for YouTube videos and composing, Heo Ok read newspapers, news articles, and books.
And occasionally checked her emails—that was it.
Emails used to flood in endlessly, but now there seemed to be more ads and spam.
Still, old colleagues occasionally sent messages asking after her.
Even though Heo Ok had practically vanished after retiring, she didn’t ignore those who went out of their way to email her.
Only a handful knew her new phone number, and since she hadn’t shared it, those who contacted her via email were all the more precious for still thinking of her more than she realized.
And sometimes, emails came from people she’d never expected.
[It’s Im Suhyeon from XX class number. How’ve you been?]
Exactly like this one.
Im Suhyeon.
A memorable person.
One of the few college classmates who kept in touch even after she dropped classical for jazz.
She checked the email content.
[It’s me, doing well?
Phone number seems changed, so I tried email just in case.
Professor Park Jeonghan seems to want to see you and your grandson?
I’ll leave his number.
And below is mine.
Let’s grab a glass of wine sometime after all these years.]
Park Jeonghan…!
There was no way she didn’t know.
Just as Himari had Heo Ok, Heo Ok had a mentor.
Park Jeonghan was that person.
In the 1970s, the one and only person from Asia—especially Korea—to take second place in an international concerto, no less the Chopin Competition.
A truly legendary figure.
But for Heo Ok, who had betrayed his expectations by choosing jazz, he was also an uncomfortable presence.
That’s why she’d ignored him for decades.
‘He wants to see my grandson….’
But thinking of her grandson stirred her heart.
It couldn’t be helped.
Yeonwoo had no interest in classical music. Maybe because he was young, but he seemed to find classical boring in general.
But Heo Ok could assert one thing.
It was because Yeonwoo was young and didn’t know classical yet.
Anyone in music could never ignore classical.
Unless they were ignoring the ‘people’ who did classical, that is.
Anyway, she wanted to introduce him to classical, and this man was perfect for it.
The problem was that he was one of those ‘classical people’ in Korea.
A total old-school type with boomer vibes that young people these days hated, so Yeonwoo might dislike him.
Still, she wanted to show him classical.
After agonizing, she picked up her smartphone.
* * *
The world had more oddballs than people realized.
Oddballs came in all varieties, but Shin Jiyeong thought the man before her definitely qualified as one.
“Um… Y University graduate, fluent in English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, holds a teaching certificate plus multiple industrial licenses, large vehicle license, martial arts total 8th dan, cooking functional licenses for Korean, Western, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine…?”
A person who could make a living at anything sat before her.
The shocking part? He was only 33.
“Yes.”
“No, when on earth did you get all these qualifications….”
“Well, I started collecting them as a hobby back in school. And most are just functional licenses, so they weren’t that hard to get.”
Fine, let’s say that.
But Y University education department plus five languages? Wasn’t that straight-up OP?
Anyway.
“No, why would someone like you want to be a manager….”
He was there for an interview as Yeonwoo’s manager.
JOP’s HR had sent him to Jiyeong, saying no one there matched his specs, and when she saw his resume, she was speechless.
Because no one with specs like this should exist.
“Boring daily routine of just commuting back and forth, you know?”
He could do plenty without a commute-heavy job, right?
“I heard the conditions are tough, pays well, I’m curious about the industry, and I’ve never met a genius in my life. Wonder what it feels like.”
Never met a genius… Jiyeong glanced at the resume. There was a Mensa membership copy at the end.
Wouldn’t he count as a genius from a normal person’s view?
Anyway.
“Uh, you might feel like I’m bragging, but our Yeonwoo—I mean, Yuin—is pretty quirky. Super impulsive, does totally unexpected stuff. Can you handle it?”
“Genuses originally do things ordinary folks can’t imagine. You can’t stop them—that clips their wings. Just quietly support them, and control so they don’t cause legal or moral accidents.”
Oh, that sounds solid.
Jiyeong set down the resume and said,
“You’re hired. HR will handle the contract. When can you start?”
“Tomorrow’s fine.”
“Then… please take care of things.”
And so, the extraordinary manager Oh Jaehoon joined Team Yuin.
Oh Jaehoon showed up at SSHIN Studio the very next day.
Jiyeong, visiting the studio after a while, introduced him to Yeonwoo.
“Say hi. He’s your manager starting today, taking care of you.”
Yeonwoo, already hearing about the manager from his aunt, wasn’t surprised and bowed to Oh Jaehoon.
“Hello, I’m Shin Yeonwoo. Active as Yuin.”
“Yes, nice to meet you, Yeonwoo. I’m Oh Jaehoon. Got into all sorts of things, then got interested in you and applied. Nice to meet you.”
As Yeonwoo stared quietly at the bowing Oh Jaehoon, Jiyeong said,
“Manager’s main job is taking care of you, but he can teach you tons too. Languages, studies, starting from there. So ask him anything you’re curious about.”
Yeonwoo’s eyes lit up at that, and Oh Jaehoon said to him,
“I heard you pick up languages fast, Yeonwoo. I can teach you English, Chinese, Spanish. Interested?”
“Wow… I want to learn English!”
“Good. We’ll learn steadily whenever you have time.”
Yeonwoo looked at Oh Jaehoon. No fairy aura. Seemed unrelated to music.
Surrounded only by music people, this felt super fresh to Yeonwoo.
“Oh, right. Your dedicated car’s parked downstairs. From now on, tell Manager Jaehoon here if you need to go anywhere. Use it for schedules too.”
Yeonwoo nodded and said,
“I was just about to go somewhere!”
“Huh? Where?”
“Grandma said let’s go meet someone.”
“Mom? Who?”
Jiyeong asked, a bit surprised.
Her mom, Heo Ok, hadn’t gone out to meet anyone since retiring.
The few times were for Yeonwoo, like Himari or Shuji. She’d truly been a hermit.
So this was for Yeonwoo too?
“No idea? Said it’s a classical pianist.”
As expected.
“Did Mom have ties to classical too? Anyway, got it. Jaehoon, you heard?”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
Jiyeong suddenly wondered if it was okay to use talent like this just as a road manager, but hey, it’s what he wanted.
“Then I’ll head out. Yeonwoo! Aunt’s going to HQ!”
“Yeah!”
After his aunt left, Yeonwoo called to bring Grandma over, then turned around.
Wakana was in the office as usual.
“Wakana noona, I’m heading out—gonna stay here?”
“Ah, yeah. Today’s Chae Hayeon’s cover video shoot, so I’ll help with that.”
“Got it. See you later.”
Yeonwoo finished with Wakana, bowed to Oh Jaehoon.
“Then, Manager bro, please take care of me.”
“Hm, ‘Manager bro’ sounds too stiff for someone we’ll be with every day. Just call me bro casually.”
“Yeah, bro.”
Yeonwoo nodded readily. Oh Jaehoon nodded back satisfied, and they headed down to the first floor together.
“Wow, the car’s huge.”
Yeonwoo—precisely, Heo Ok’s commercial building—had space next to it for two regular sedans.
A large van waited there for Yeonwoo.
“I’ve seen the Hadass sisters riding around in one like this!”
“This’ll be your ride from now on, Yeonwoo.”
Hearing Oh Jaehoon, Yeonwoo said,
“Bro, talk casually to me too! I’m still a kid.”
Oh Jaehoon nodded.
“Got it. Will do.”
And so, Yeonwoo set off with Grandma and his new manager to meet the classical pianist—Park Jeonghan.