Chapter 115
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Wrong Teacher
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[Marine Company, Assemble 2! Filming Begins in September!]
[A Superhero Roundup! The Heroes Appearing in Assemble 2!]
[The Reason Bel Natra and Shadowman Joined Forces: Redbone is in Danger!]
[What is Bel Natra and Shadowman’s Past?]
[Where is Jin Natra?!]
-Yeah, seriously. Where is Jin Natra?
-Doesn't look like he'll be in Assemble 2, does it?
=Yup, he’s not in it lol
-What's Lee Seojun up to these days? There are no interesting dramas or movies. I've lost count of how many times I've rewatched *Naeuiwon*.
-Two years on hiatusㅠ Come back, Lee Seojun!
-Lately, I've been searching for young geniuses on N-tube, lol. Hoping I might find Lee Seojun, lol.
=If that were the case, there would have been news articles by now.
-Have you seen this?!! It’s an Asian boy busking in a park. Isn’t it Lee Seojun?!! [Link]
=Going to watch!!! (Excited)…… (After watching)…… No clickbait!!
=Heh, he sounds like a musician who crawled up from hell. Heh, the violin is suffering.
=?? You can't see his face. How do you know it's not Lee Seojun?
=Because he's bad. There's no way Lee Seojun would be bad at something.
=But it's the violin. Lee Seojun's an actor.
=There's nothing he can't do, heh.
-But isn't he a lot better in week 5 than in week 1?
=You're right. It's amazing. Can someone really improve that fast?
=The comments are all surprised too, haha. They're saying he sold his soul to the devil for violin skills, haha.
-But for real, is it possible to do that in just five weeks?
=Nope. I was busy just memorizing where to press the strings on the violin, lol.
=Me too, lol. My head would explode if I had to worry about the bow and pressing the strings at the same time.
-Someone edited the week 1 and week 5 videos together and posted it on a classical music site. Everyone is shocked, lol.
=The site's review is positive too. ‘I look forward to seeing how he grows.’ ‘He improved this much in just five weeks???’ ‘I want to hear him in person, where is this?’
The unbelievable change in the violin boy's skill drew a lot of attention.
The short, edited video comparing his first and fifth weeks racked up a high number of views.
Not only violin majors and people in the classical music world, but also the general public showed interest in the violin boy with 'demonic talent.'
The fact that nothing about him had been revealed particularly amplified people's curiosity.
-Heh, netizens from Korea, China, and Japan are fighting.
=Why?
=They're all claiming the violin boy is from their country, lol. It's clear he's Asian, but you can't see his face, so they're all arguing, lol. Looks like other countries might join in soon, lol.
=? Isn't he obviously Korean-American? Why are they fighting?
=Hahahaha.
***
The violin teacher Gray was to learn from was a calm, intellectual man, unlike anyone he had seen in Downrock.
Standing at the entrance of the old apartment, watching the teacher greet him warmly, Gray took an instant liking to him.
He was a wonderful teacher with a gentle smile that suited him well.
"You must be Gray. It's nice to meet you. I'm Swallow."
"Hello, sir!"
The teacher, who lived in a small apartment near the bridge, first lent Gray a book about music.
It was clearly well-read, and Gray assumed the marks were his teacher's.
"Read this on your days off. Above all, the basics are important. If you need more books, you can come and borrow more on lesson days."
"Okay!"
Downrock had no library, not in the school or anywhere else in the city, so there was no place to borrow books. Gray smiled brightly and nodded repeatedly.
"By the way, Gray, do you have a violin? If not, I know someone…"
"I have a violin!"
Gray said with a wide smile. It was a violin lent to him by a precious friend. Swallow nodded, his smiling face never faltering.
"Then bring it to our next lesson."
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing Gray's beaming face, Swallow smiled brightly back.
"Cut! OK!"
As Director Sarah Rothe's voice rang out, Wyatt Carter, playing Swallow, clutched his chest. Ugh.
"My conscience is killing me. I can't do this."
"Bad teacher! Mean teacher!"
Assistant Director Emily shouted teasingly. The staff, who had read the script and knew the story, burst out laughing along with Seojun. Wyatt Carter shook his head from side to side.
"Isn't it a bit unfitting to give a role like this to a hero?"
At the words of the former superhero, Greenwing, Director Sarah Rothe laughed. Having finished two series together, Wyatt Carter, Sarah Rothe, and Emily were close.
"That's what makes it more believable. And the shock of the twist will be greater."
At the director's cheerful words, Wyatt Carter shook his head again. He felt sorry for the audience that was about to be blindsided.
***
"Wyatt Carter?! You filmed with Greenwing?"
"So Wyatt Carter was the teacher."
Paul, a fan of Marine's hero movies, exclaimed. Catherine was no different. They both spoke with disappointed expressions.
"Then I guess there won't be any scenes for us to film together."
"I know. He only appears with Gray. The teacher."
"Well, can't be helped."
That was the nature of filming; if you didn't have scenes together, you might never meet other actors, even if you were in the same movie or drama. The kids, who knew this well, quickly moved on to another topic.
"By the way, the N-tube channel's subscriber count has exploded. It's all over the internet, too. The violinist who bought his talent from the devil."
Catherine giggled. Paul and Seojun burst into laughter.
"I saw that too. Some people were asking which devil it was and how to create a devil-summoning circle."
At Paul's words, Seojun recalled the demon-summoning circles he knew of, then quickly shook his head. The very first ingredient that came to mind was unsettling.
"But nobody seems to know it's for movie promotion. When do you think they'll reveal it?"
"They said this week's busking is the last one, so maybe they'll reveal it soon?"
"Really?!"
"I've been waiting forever!"
Catherine and Paul, who had been smiling brightly at Seojun's words, leaned back in their chairs and went limp. Their faces instantly darkened.
"Ah, I wonder if I can do well in today's shoot."
"I know. It seems like it's going to be really tough…"
"I hope we can get it in under ten takes."
It seemed Catherine and Paul's attempt to relieve their tension with small talk had failed. Today's shoot was the first intense emotional scene in the movie.
"If we can't get it today, we'll do it tomorrow. Just relax."
"I want to, but I'm so nervous."
"Jun. Let's run through it one more time."
At Paul's words, Catherine also opened the script she was clutching tightly in her hand.
"Okay."
Seojun readily nodded at his friends' request.
***
"Ready! Action!"
Gray was sitting in the park, waiting for his friends. In the distance, two familiar figures were running toward him. Sun-tanned Rebecca and George smiled brightly as they held out a gift.
"Have you been practicing hard?"
"Yeah! Oh, and I got a teacher."
At Gray's shy, blushing words, Rebecca and George smiled brightly and congratulated him.
"That's great! We were running out of things to teach you anyway!"
"How can you have nothing left to teach when you've been learning for years?"
"That's because you haven't learned the violin. You have no idea how good Gray is!"
There were times when she was truly jealous of how good he was, but whenever she saw Gray's face light up in a kaleidoscope of colors at the sight of a violin, any feeling of jealousy would vanish.
Seeing his skills improve so noticeably, Gray seemed like a genius violinist with a talent Rebecca could never have imagined.
"My teacher gave me a book, so I've been reading a lot."
"Oh, a book! Right, books! Our school library has a lot of books."
"We could have borrowed some for you since it's open during vacation."
"A real teacher is different, I guess."
At Rebecca and George's praise, Gray felt as happy as if he were the one being complimented. Gray from Downrock, who had nothing to be proud of, had found something to boast about for the first time in his life. In his eyes and in his friends' eyes, Mr. Swallow was wonderful.
*My teacher is amazing! He's the best! He's incredible!*
As if his expression revealed his thoughts, Rebecca and George smiled gently and listened to Gray brag about his teacher.
Everyone watching the cute children had parental smiles on their faces. Benjamin Morton, who had stopped by the set after a long time, also had a pleased expression.
Jayden Moore, who had come with Professor Morton, wore his usual stoic face, as if to say, 'What's the big deal?'
Professor Benjamin Morton recalled the first time he met Jayden Moore. The boy was bright and talented, shining in a way anyone could recognize. It had taken some effort to make him his student, but he didn't regret it.
"My student never bragged about his teacher like that."
How cute and lovely would it have been if he had smiled and boasted like that? Benjamin Morton was reminded anew of how incredibly stoic his student was.
***
Gray's face was happier and more radiant than ever before. When he mentioned that his teacher had taught him something, his friends said they wanted to see it.
For the first time in his life, Gray stood up proudly. Instead of the violin that fit him, he placed the small violin he had been practicing with on his shoulder. The bow grazed the strings.
A wretched sound echoed through the air.
The expressions on Rebecca and George's faces, who had been clapping enthusiastically and listening intently to their friend's performance, hardened. Everything they had taught him was gone.
Gray's posture was bad, bad, and worse.
The techniques he forced himself to use resulted in off-key notes, and the piece, too advanced for his level, made his fingers move frantically. Sometimes he pressed the wrong string, and sometimes he was completely off.
But Gray was smiling. A bright, blissful smile. *I love the violin. I'm happy. I want to play more.* The contrast between Gray's happy face, which Rebecca and George loved, and the ear-splitting performance made their heads spin.
"What is that!?"
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Rebecca shouted. Gray, lost in his performance, jumped in surprise and stopped his bow.
"What, what is it?"
"Why are you playing a piece like that? And what's with your posture!"
"Uh… my teacher told me to do it like this. He said you have to play difficult pieces to make easy pieces feel easy."
Gray repeated the words of his wonderful teacher, Mr. Swallow. The teacher had explained it to Gray in a gentle, soft voice.
Gray had understood his words and quickly adopted them. *I should explain it to my friends this way, too.* Blaming his own poor speaking skills, he was about to explain when,
"What kind of crap is that!"
George, who was usually calm but shouted whenever something serious happened, yelled.
[The Black and White Chameleon's Monochrome ability activates.]
Gray, who had been shining with color, slowly began to darken.
Thump.
Thump.
"...He said even if it sounds strange, it will all be fine later…"
"No! Gray!"
At Rebecca's scream, Gray felt a surge of anxiety. He recalled the words of his kind and wonderful teacher, Mr. Swallow. But his friends before him were furious.
Thump.
Thump.
His heart was pounding so hard it was difficult to breathe. *Teacher, teacher. Mr. Swallow.* Gray, who had given his heart away completely despite having met him less than ten times, couldn't get a grip.
"That's not a violinist's posture! It's all a mess!"
Rebecca, who had lent him the violin, cried out. George, realizing this wasn't the time to get angry at Gray, spoke calmly. But he couldn't hide the deep-seated anger welling up inside him.
"You have to start with easy pieces. Once you get used to those, you move on to more difficult ones."
Thump.
Thump.
Gray's heart, slowly turning black, pulsed through his body like an alarm bell. *No, my teacher. My teacher…!*
"Is that teacher even a real violinist!?"
Like the sound of a judge's gavel, Rebecca's voice pierced his ears, and Gray's heart, burnt black as if by fire, plummeted to the ground.
"Cut, OK!"
As Director Sarah Rothe's words fell, Catherine and Paul, who had been red-faced with anger, let out a sigh of relief. After catching their breath and calming down, they beamed.
To pass such a difficult scene in one take! The problem was that they had been so tense and so immersed that they hadn't even been able to watch Seojun's acting, but Catherine and Paul were too happy about passing in one go to care.
"That practice paid off. I didn't think we'd pass in one take."
"Emotional acting is so hard. I almost forgot my lines in the middle, but then I got so angry I just let it all out for real. Mr. Swallow is really a bad guy."
"I know. But it was easier than I thought because we filmed in sequence. It was easy to get into character. During the last movie shoot, we were acting out the beginning, then the end, it was so hard."
"You both did great, though."
"Wow! I got a compliment from Jun!"
Catherine and Paul cheered, throwing their hands up in the air. Seojun smiled and waited for the next close-up shot.
"Let's get this one in one take, too!"
"Let's go!"
They started filming energetically, but the close-up shots were plagued with NGs, finally getting an OK on the eighth take.
It was because a relaxed Catherine and Paul had clearly witnessed Gray's despairing expression and, struck by his bleak appearance, had involuntarily stopped speaking.
***
"You're going to break a tooth like that, Jayden."
Jayden Moore, who had jumped to his feet at some point without realizing it, became aware that he was grinding his teeth at Professor Morton's words.
"...What if he ruins his form doing that?"
"He's not a violinist. But he did a better job than expected, don't you think?"
Professor Benjamin Morton, who had taught him 'that,' smiled warmly. It was 'that' which Professor Morton had devised at Director Sarah Rothe's request for a posture and playing style that looked fine on the surface but was fundamentally flawed.
A bizarre posture that ordinary people wouldn't notice, but violinists would.
It was a posture he had never considered before, so it took some thought, but it was fun.
Watching Seojun master it so easily, Benjamin Morton thought he was a born actor.
"Jun is an actor. A very passionate one at that."
"...I know."
Although his expression showed he was itching to run over to Seojun and correct his posture, Professor Morton simply nodded.
*No matter how much Jayden wants to make Jun a violinist, what can he do if Jun says no? It would be like the dog that chased the chicken, only to be left staring at the roof.*
Using a proverb he had learned from *Naeuiwon*, Benjamin Morton chuckled softly.