26
Chapter 26
Face-less Painter, Singer, Pianist, and...
Munch, munch.
At a café in front of the Mokpo Passenger Ferry Terminal, a woman was chewing on a sandwich as a substitute for a meal while carefully surveying her surroundings.
Her name was Kim Bori.
She was an arts reporter for Hyunseong Daily.
Ring.
"Yes, sunbae."
[Oh, good. Bori, you arrived safely in Mokpo, right? How's the situation?]
"I'm at the Mokpo Passenger Ferry Terminal for now. I plan to wander around this area and look for creep."
[...You haven't even seen creep's real face. Do you have any plans going forward?]
"Every place creep visits ends up creating a sensation through either paintings or songs. He said he was heading to Jeju, but he'll definitely cause some kind of commotion in Mokpo too."
The faceless painter and faceless singer known as creep had astonished people everywhere he went through breathtaking paintings or songs.
There was no way he would simply pass through Mokpo quietly.
"For now, I'll search through Instagram and look for traces of creep. If I find any signs, I'll head there immediately."
[...You're really working hard.]
Her senior reporter clicked his tongue at her enthusiasm for creep.
Of course, it was understandable.
Kim Bori had actually met creep in person, yet failed to obtain even the slightest information, let alone an interview.
Perhaps that lingering regret was what drove her to work even harder.
However, her reason for searching for creep wasn't simply professional passion or disappointment.
'I wonder if creep has made more songs? Ah... I want to see more of creep's paintings too.'
As an art journalist and music fanatic, she had already become completely captivated by creep's paintings and songs.
She wanted to know more about creep not only as a reporter, but also as a fan.
And that desire made Kim Bori even more determined to find him.
"Alright then, sunbae. I'll continue searching. I'll contact you again if I find anything."
[When you get back to Seoul, I'll treat you to something big. Keep up the good work.]
"Yes, sunbae. Take care as well."
After ending the call, Reporter Kim Bori resumed her search for creep.
The method she chose was simple.
She would comb through Instagram and gather reports from ordinary citizens about creep's whereabouts.
Swipe. Swipe.
At first, no matter how many Instagram posts she searched through, no new information about creep appeared.
But then...
"Hmm...?"
Posts and videos with traffic that looked ready to explode suddenly began flooding in.
"What is this...? Faceless Pianist... creep...?"
She had seen posts about the Faceless Pianist creep before.
Whenever she searched for information about the Faceless Painter creep, stories about the Faceless Pianist always seemed to follow.
Back then, however, she had assumed creep was solely devoted to painting and ignored anything related to the pianist.
But now she knew that creep's talent wasn't limited to painting.
And now the Faceless Pianist creep was in Mokpo?
The Faceless Painter and Faceless Singer creep was also in Mokpo.
"N-No way... Th-That's impossible..."
A reporter's intuition surged through her body, sending chills down her spine.
'...What if creep is actually the Faceless Painter, the Faceless Singer, and the Faceless Pianist?'
No matter how heaven-sent a genius might be...
Could someone truly excel in painting, singing, and piano all at once?
"I-I need to check first."
With trembling hands, Kim Bori played a video of the Faceless Pianist creep.
What appeared was a woman holding a violin and a mysterious man sitting before a piano while wearing a bread-bag mask.
"That's the Faceless Pianist creep? And the woman in front is..."
Because she had seen articles written by fellow arts reporters, Kim Bori recognized the woman immediately.
Kim Jia.
The violinist known as Korea's Paganini.
And creep's performance, as though competing directly against Kim Jia...
"Wooow..."
Even to someone completely ignorant about piano, it was breathtakingly beautiful.
At the same time, she realized something.
The Faceless Pianist creep in the video was the same person she had been desperately searching for.
Of course, she only knew creep's voice, and the video didn't contain even a single word from him.
Yet somehow, she just knew.
The creep in the video was definitely that creep.
"How is this possible?!"
She had nearly fainted from shock when she discovered that creep wasn't only a faceless painter but also a faceless singer.
But now he was also a faceless pianist?
A genius pianist capable of standing alongside Korea's greatest violinist, Kim Jia?
Apparently she wasn't the only one who had noticed this, as fierce debates were already erupting in the video's comment section.
* Wait, is this guy creep too? The faceless painter's name is creep as well.
* Ah, that guy paints really well.
* Don't tell me they're actually the same person...? Even their activity areas are all in Jeolla Province.
* No way. How could one person be that good at painting and piano?
* LOL. If they're the same person, I'll shave my head and do windmills in front of Admiral Yi Sun-sin's statue at Gwanghwamun.
Naturally, most people didn't believe it and dismissed it as a coincidence.
The idea that the genius painter and genius pianist who had shocked the nation were the same person simply sounded absurd.
Some people even started arguing over which creep was superior.
* Painter creep is way better than that piano-playing entertainer creep.
* You uncultured idiot LOL. Do you even know how difficult the pieces Pianist creep plays are? Do you even know who Liszt is? Bet you don't even know creep rearranged Liszt's work.
* Have you even seen Painter creep's White Goose mural? Do you know what sketching is? You're calling someone uncultured when you don't know a damn thing.
Amid the chaos, some people even used the high traffic to secretly promote their favorite singer.
* Everyone calm down and come listen to our Faceless Singer Tokki-Kking's songs too. Link.
The problem was that the Faceless Singer was also creep.
* Why are there suddenly so many faceless people these days? At this rate we'll get a Faceless Chef, Faceless Rapper, and Faceless Lawyer too.
Looking at that comment, Kim Bori felt it might actually happen.
After all, creep had already been confirmed as a faceless painter, singer, and pianist.
At this point, discovering yet another talent wouldn't even be surprising.
"What exactly is creep...? I-Is he even human...?"
There was an old saying that demons loved art.
Artists who made contracts with demons supposedly created countless masterpieces to satisfy them.
'Just what kind of face lies behind that mask?'
Kim Bori absentmindedly watched his performance, thinking she wouldn't be surprised even if a demon's face was hidden behind creep's mask.
Then...
"Ah...! You idiot! Instead of sitting here, I should go there right now!"
Finally coming to her senses, she jumped to her feet and rushed toward the area of Mokpo where creep had reportedly appeared.
Unfortunately, by the time she arrived, only the piano he had played remained.
"Argh! Again! I missed him again! Damn it!"
Where had creep gone now?
Was he still in Mokpo?
Or had he already crossed over to Jeju?
As she checked ferry schedules to Jeju Island, Kim Bori called her senior reporter.
"Sunbae! I think I've found traces of creep in Mokpo!"
[Really? What is it this time? A painting? A song?]
"Well... I think he played the piano..."
[...What are you talking about now?]
While explaining the situation, Kim Bori headed back to the Mokpo Passenger Ferry Terminal.
However, all ferries for the day had already departed, forcing her to book one for tomorrow.
'Now it's Jeju too...? At this rate, chasing creep is going to turn into a nationwide tour!'
What had started as a simple business trip to Jeolla Province was now extending all the way to Jeju Island.
Still, she had no regrets.
The faceless painter, faceless singer, and faceless pianist creep.
Simply following his trail and uncovering more truths about him made her heart race.
"What kind of surprise will creep have for me next...?"
Thus, Kim Bori clenched her teeth and vowed to find him, even if it meant traveling across the entire country.
---
It took about five hours by ferry from Mokpo to Jeju.
After sleeping for around two hours in my cabin, I came outside feeling refreshed.
"Ah, the sea breeze feels great."
As I gazed at the endless horizon while enjoying the cool ocean wind, excitement began to well up inside me.
Having thoughtfully brought along my acoustic guitar, I checked that nobody was nearby before taking it out.
Looking out at the sea, I began playing guitar chords that had become quite familiar to my fingers.
♪♪ ♬
It was a short guitar riff I had created while looking at the night sea in Yeosu.
The difference was that back then it had been played in a sentimental acoustic style.
Now it sounded bright, refreshing, and rhythmic.
"This version isn't bad either. If I develop it a little more, I could probably turn it into a full song."
I smiled softly and continued playing.
Then...
"Hehe, it's kind of a waste for only me to hear this. If other people could listen too... ...Huh?"
Suddenly, a forgotten memory surfaced from my alcohol-clouded mind.
"Wait... Didn't I make a YouTube channel and upload a video back then?"
That's right.
While drunk, I had boldly created a channel and uploaded a video.
"Seriously... What was I even doing while drunk?"
Like someone recalling a dark chapter of their life, I opened YouTube with a reddened face.
Still, I wasn't worried.
After all, who would watch a channel carelessly created by some random guy while drunk?
But then...
"Hmm...?"
The moment I opened my channel, I froze.
[Channel Name: creep1234]
[Subscribers: 7.38K]
I had subscribers.
Around seven thousand of them.
"...Why do I have subscribers?"
The channel creep1234 had been created roughly two weeks ago while I was drunk.
Back then, I had uploaded nothing more than a twenty-second original melody.
Naturally, I had assumed nobody would pay attention to it.
Yet somehow it had subscribers.
"If there are subscribers, doesn't that mean people watched the video?"
Tilting my head in confusion, I entered the channel.
The one and only guitar performance video I had uploaded—the one I was certain nobody had watched—showed:
[Untitled]
[Views: 106,784 — 2 weeks ago]
It had accumulated over one hundred thousand views.