Chapter 112
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Shut up.
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Should I call it fortunate?
Or inevitable?
Even after Moon Cheonyeop had come and gone, the live cafe maintained its usual tranquility.
Kim Seungjun tried persuading her a few times before slumping his shoulders and leaving.
Yujin belted out songs energetically on stage once her shift ended.
The customers regretted Rimon's absence but were still satisfied with the live performance.
President Jeong, pleased with the booming sales, packed her up with tons of leftover cookies.
Crunch.
"Tastes like it'll make me gain weight."
In a park shrouded in faint darkness.
Yujin muttered to herself as she nibbled on the cookies from President Jeong, sitting on a bench in that deserted spot where the late hour and remote location had driven away all foot traffic.
"Still, it's delicious."
Sweet things are great.
They just make you feel good when you eat them.
For Yujin, who was already stressed out thanks to Moon Cheonyeop, it was exactly the flavor she needed.
'What a lame threat.'
Recalling Moon Cheonyeop's intimidation.
Yujin let out a giggle.
Having wandered the world and met all sorts of people, Yujin had encountered plenty like Kim Seungjun or Moon Cheonyeop—those who recognized her talent and tried to exploit it.
But none of them had gotten anything from her.
Not the general leading an army.
Not the gangster shoving a gun in her face.
Not the noble boasting his bloodline.
Not the businessman talking profits.
They'd all failed, which was why Yujin was still a wandering musician.
Much less some no-name like Moon Cheonyeop or his Worm Guild.
If anything, not being able to hear Rimon's playing was the real thing piling on her stress.
"Hmm, feels like pent-up frustration."
Maybe because she kept thinking of Rimon.
Even after singing her heart out for so long.
Feeling the thirst rise again, Yujin finished her cookie and reached to the side.
She picked up the hefty guitar with a grin.
"If it's lacking, I gotta fill it."
In a barren park with no proper stage, no mic, not even a single audience member, Yujin casually prepared to sing.
Whether anyone was listening or not.
Whether she had a partner for backup or not.
It didn't matter to her.
She'd always sung alone, listened alone, and found satisfaction alone as a wanderer.
Ting.
"...?"
But right after plucking the guitar string.
Yujin froze.
She tilted her head, then plucked a few more times.
Ting, twang, ting-twang.
"...???"
No matter how many times she tuned it or tried different notes, the guitar sounded off.
She was puzzled for a moment.
"Ah."
Then Yujin let out a sudden exclamation.
She smacked her forehead with one hand and let out a deep sigh.
She'd finally realized the guitar wasn't broken—it was her.
"I'm screwed."
Her giggle was short-lived.
Yujin flopped down on the bench.
She no longer felt like singing.
No matter how frustrated she was, whatever she tried to play automatically compared to Rimon's guitar.
"Can't sing alone anymore."
Of course, playing and singing were separate.
She could just sing without the guitar.
But in the end, Yujin didn't touch it again.
Like a gourmet accustomed to the finest delicacies, who couldn't dip moldy bread in worm soup even on pain of death.
She'd grown too used to singing along with Rimon's fantastical playing—addicted, even.
More than anyone, Yujin knew it best.
So she put on her headphones.
Ting, twing.
The moment she pressed play.
A familiar melody filled her ears.
A video some student had snuck and uploaded of her and Rimon's performance.
One where only Rimon's music was compiled.
Listening to it, Yujin smiled softly.
Like an addict finding their fix after quitting cold turkey.
Or a traveler spotting an oasis in the desert.
The soulful richness seeping into her body with the melody brought a thrill a hundred times greater than singing alone, along with unmatched comfort.
"If I'd known it'd be like this, maybe I should've turned down that offer back then."
When she first met Rimon.
If she hadn't borrowed his guitar.
At least she wouldn't have lost the ability to enjoy her own singing like this.
"But no regrets."
Still, Yujin smiled in the end.
She might not enjoy singing solo anymore, but singing to Rimon's playing was even more ecstatic.
Boring pleasure?
Or pleasure that danced on the edge of hell?
If she had to choose, Yujin's taste ran to the latter, no question.
And her take on Rimon, who gave her that hellish joy, boiled down to exactly two words.
'Weird partner.'
Yujin was an oddball, but not an idiot.
She knew just how unusual she was.
She didn't crave fame, and she went to extremes to avoid making money from singing—that alone wasn't normal.
In truth, she'd been solo all this time partly because few musicians would cater to her quirks.
There were other reasons too.
But in that regard, Rimon was a truly peculiar partner.
'Why doesn't he try to change me?'
Among the people Yujin had met wandering the world, some admired her talent purely, without greed.
Their reactions were all the same.
First, awe.
Then, regret over her wasted potential.
Finally, anger for some reason.
They'd say a talent that could become a once-in-a-generation singer with proper training was being squandered.
In that sense, Rimon was strange.
He didn't care about fame or money himself, but more than that, he'd never once forced his way on her.
Not when she was broke.
Not when he saw her talent rotting.
He never told her to make money singing or to hone her skills.
'And yet he ended up changing me anyway.'
When others told her to develop her talent.
The reason Yujin ignored them.
She just didn't like the idea of learning to sing.
Learning something meant being influenced by it.
Even if it was training to sing better, it meant being ruled by that teaching in the end.
So she just enjoyed singing.
She had no desire to sing better.
To her, vocal training was just adding shackles that stole her freedom.
Yet the reason Yujin took singing lessons from President Jeong.
It was all because of Rimon.
'Being a partner who can't keep up with her partner's playing is just weird.'
When it came to music, Yujin was more sensitive than anyone.
She could tell Rimon could play even better if he wanted.
That he was holding back to accommodate her shaky fundamentals.
So for the first time, Yujin learned to sing.
Even if it meant giving up some freedom.
Even if it meant losing her own singing voice.
She didn't want to be a burden.
'Or... is that not it?'
Tilting her head, Yujin ended up chuckling.
She knew better than anyone that she wasn't the considerate type.
In the end, the real reason was simple.
She just wanted to hear it.
Rimon's playing at full power.
And her own singing along with it.
For Yujin, who had only ever enjoyed singing without caring about the craft itself, it was a change so massive she could hardly believe it herself.
'No idea why a guy with that skill says playing isn't fun.'
Having been so influenced by Rimon, the question stood out sharply.
If he didn't need money, fame, or even enjoyment, then why play an instrument?
And why grumble every time but still come out and play for her?
She couldn't figure it out.
But in Rimon's bizarre attitude, Yujin sometimes felt a strange familiarity.
'Kinda like those old geezers.'
Yujin suddenly recalled.
Back when she was young.
The old folks she'd see in alleys everywhere.
Basking in the sun, playing chess or instruments, just passing time.
Having lived their prime, they only reminisced about the past, watched the present idly, and occasionally meddled.
Rimon reminded her of them.
Especially the retired soldiers who'd been through brutal wars.
'Come to think of it, I really don't know a thing about my partner, do I?'
Anyone who knew Yujin would be shocked.
She only cared about enjoying herself.
Ignoring everything else.
For her to take interest in a person was that rare.
Still, Yujin went beyond mere curiosity and reviewed what she knew about Rimon.
'Bird lover, fourth-dimensional weirdo, and rich...?'
A bird enthusiast with a bluebird perched on his head everywhere he went.
A fourth-dimensional type who suddenly changed expressions like he was receiving signals or tormented his bird.
A demeanor oddly unbound by money.
Separate, they seemed normal enough, but together, they painted a strangely eerie picture.
'Whatever, doesn't matter. A partner's a partner.'
But Yujin didn't sweat the small stuff.
Whether Rimon was the world's biggest eccentric.
Or a deranged serial killer.
His playing was real.
And that alone was more than enough for Yujin to see him as her soulmate.
'Once this job's done, I gotta drag my partner along.'
Yujin made plans.
Take a long vacation after wrapping up, then a world tour filled with performances alongside Rimon.
A bold plan with no thought to whether he'd come.
If he wouldn't, she'd make him.
"Hmm~♪"
Was it the travel plans lifting her spirits?
Or the melody from her headphones?
Yujin didn't hold back the hum escaping her nose.
Arms pillowed under her head, sprawled on the bench, she immersed herself in her own bliss.
"Hey, what's this? Some chick here?"
"Foreigner probably doesn't know this is our turf."
"Yeah, no one's like Byung-sik or Han-seo around here lately, so out-of-towners wouldn't know."
"Ooh, she's pretty cute, huh?"
But whether misfortune or fate.
Yujin's good mood was shattered by uninvited intruders.
"Miss, you speak Korean?"
"Lost? We can show you around."
"Yeah, yeah. We're real friendly."
"Puhaha! Friendly's all dead!"
Strolling up with hands in pockets, two guys who looked miles away from concern or courtesy.
From their sloppy clothes and attitudes.
To the piercings in ears and lips.
To the leering gazes blatantly scanning her neck and thighs.
They were the kind not even worth calling thugs—just obvious lowlifes.
But Yujin ignored them.
She outright pretended they didn't exist.
All that mattered was humming along to the melody from her headphones.
"Hey, miss? Didn't you hear us?"
Static creeps in.
"Ah, this fucking bitch. How high's the volume that she ignores people?"
Annoying, worthless noise.
"I was gonna be nice and talk it out, but nah."
Don't want to pay attention.
"Nice my ass. Last time with that chick, you said you'd talk, but you fucked her raw, XXX'd her XX, and got reported."
But the noise doesn't fade.
"That was 'cause that bitch wouldn't listen. Huh? The guild master's sky-high niece deigns to play with her, and she should be grateful."
"What happened with her in the end?"
"What do ya think? Kicked from the guild and blacklisted. Took in a level 20 noob 'cause she was hot, and she dares report us?"
"Man, you heartless prick."
The chattering voices keep going.
The noise disrupting the melody.
The filthy emotions mixed in.
It yanked her mind from Rimon's playing, ruining her joy.
"Hey, since it's like this, this chick too, just..."
"Shut up."
"What?"
In the end, Yujin stopped humming.
And to the two lowlifes still blinking blankly in place, as if deaf.
She spoke in a cold voice.
"You're noisy, so shut your mouths and get lost."