I Do. An Instrument I Can Play Properly

It was true. An instrument I knew how to play properly.

Composer.

Among them, composers for popular music weren't exactly a common profession.

Perhaps because of that, I often got asked why I chose that path.

Some people might have naturally developed an interest in composition after being exposed to instruments from a young age.

Others might have started making songs as a hobby using composition apps on their phones and found it fascinating.

And in my case, I used to answer that question like this.

......Like that.

Purely.

That was really all there was to it.

Looking at it the other way, it seemed that within me, her existence held quite a special meaning.

In my previous life, there were exactly two moments I could never forget. One of them was the first time I heard Baek Yerin's song.

And the second was......

This was when I first attended a concert of Baek Yerin, who was called the national little sister and a national singer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who transcended generations.

Baek Yerin's concerts were famous for having really good reviews.

To what extent? They were praised with comments like "the concert you must attend at least once in your lifetime" or "there may be people who haven't gone, but no one who has gone only once."

Honestly, I thought it might be a bit exaggerated.

......Until I actually saw Baek Yerin's concert, that is.

That day, perhaps because her condition was particularly good, she went beyond the encore and did an encore of the encore, letting us enjoy the concert for a full five hours and thirty minutes.

But what touched me more intensely than the generous performance time was her live skills that surpassed the recorded version.

People often say that live performances are better than listening to the recorded tracks.

Perhaps it's only natural.

A recorded track can't adjust to the audience's reaction, but a performer can change the song slightly on the spot to draw out the best response.

In that sense, live performances had far stronger appeal than recordings, and among them, Baek Yerin was special.

After listening to her live, I literally felt that she was on a different level.

It was my first time attending a concert in my life, but it made me think no other singer could possibly compare to her.

Could there really be someone like this in the world?

If there were, there would have been other people besides her that I wanted to have sing my songs.

But at this point, I wonder if I'm really a severe case.

Even now, her smile from the stage keeps coming to mind, and her incredibly charming voice that turned my utterly ordinary life upside down faintly echoes in my ears.

......So.

Skipping academy classes without a care, I returned home and proudly declared it in front of my mom.

As expected, my mom looked a bit flustered upon hearing my declaration.

Well... it was a natural reaction.

Any parent would be flustered if their son, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had never properly learned music in his life, suddenly declared he wanted to pursue it.

But I knew that my mom's confusion wouldn't last long.

Mom asked me with a serious expression.

Seeing that face, memories from my previous life suddenly came to mind.

Back then, Mom had also asked me why I wanted to do music.

And at that time, I had definitely answered with a string of excuses.

It's not something I'm saying lightly.

I absolutely won't cause any trouble for the family.

I'll prove it no matter what, and so on.

Excuses.

I hadn't explained a proper reason but had just made a bunch of pathetic excuses.

......To be honest.

When I first told my parents I wanted to do music, I was scared.

No, not a bit. I was really scared.

Honestly, the path of a composer is rough if anything; it's never smooth sailing.

Everyone there knew just by looking that the future was uncertain, so how could I confidently state my reasons?

That's why excuses popped out reflexively.

But.

Contrary to my expectations, my parents readily supported my dream.

At the time, I simply thought it was possible because they were such good people.

Without knowing that there was a special reason behind it...

Anyway, even now, I have no doubt that my parents will support my dream.

So, knowing that, the answer I should give was already decided.

I just smiled and said that.

The truth was, I couldn't clearly explain the detailed reason, neither back then nor now.

I want to make songs just for a girl who hasn't even debuted yet!

......If I said that, even to me it would sound like the words of a crazy person.

So the only thing I could do now was to show confidence.

In fact, from my position, there was no way I could lack confidence.

A guy who knew all the future music trends.

Even though my career disappeared when I returned to the past, I held the major record of achieving first place on the music charts in just two days.

A man with enough talent to be called a genius composer by the world.

If someone with such abilities returned to his middle school days and started music again but lacked confidence, that would truly be hypocritical.

As expected, Mom readily gave permission for me to start music.

Dad, who returned home from work later, was initially flustered too but eventually gave his permission after seeing my serious face.

With this, I could freely do music at home without worrying about others' opinions, but......

Upon hearing my bright answer, the woman standing in front of me let out a deep sigh.

Come to think of it, there was still one more mountain to overcome.

Ryu Se-a.

After dinner, I was immediately caught by my older sister.

For reference, she was one year older than me, and unlike me, she had been majoring in music from a young age.

The most famous instrument in the world: the piano.

She was so talented that she was called a piano prodigy. To the extent that she proudly won awards at international prodigy competitions.

Although she had to give up on the piano path now due to circumstances, her talent was not something to be ignored.

There must have been some influence from my sister in the reason why my parents readily supported my dream.

It was then.

My sister gave me advice with a somewhat serious face.

Actually, this was a conversation I had experienced in my previous life as well.

Well... it was a valid point, but it didn't really mean much to me now.

My seemingly casual answer caused my sister to show a flustered expression for the first time.

Of course, at this point in time, I didn't have any instrument I could play.

From my sister's perspective, having lived with me since birth, she would naturally know that fact.

That's why my words would be even harder to believe.

A short, resonant statement.

Declaring confidently that I could play the piano in front of my sister, who was once called a piano prodigy, carried quite a lot of meaning.

So of course my sister would be curious.

Why was I declaring that I could play the piano properly when I had never shown her a proper performance before?

My sister immediately nodded in affirmation.

And so, I ended up visiting my sister's room like a suspect being dragged to the police station, and faced the grand piano that my sister had used after quite a long time.

......

When I gently pressed one key, a beautiful sound resonated throughout the room.

Unfortunately, unlike my sister, I hadn't learned piano professionally to compete in contests.

In fact, I don't think I had any intention of learning it.

Because I thought not being able to play piano wouldn't hinder composition.

There were actually several precedents like that.

Well......

Thanks to a certain someone who was glaring at me fiercely right now, I had immediately abandoned such thoughts.

My sister looked completely unconvinced.

But I was certain that expression would change in an instant.

Because.

In my previous life, the person who taught me piano was none other than my sister, who was called a piano prodigy.

As if the title of piano prodigy was no exaggeration, my sister was a perfectionist when it came to piano.

The problem was that this approach was applied to me as well.

Thanks to that, if my hands got tangled, a merciless back smash would come flying without mercy, and if I missed even one beat, I had to keep pounding the piano keys in front of her until bedtime.

Thanks to that, before I knew it, familiar piano melodies had taken root at the center of my compositions.

The same went for the song Cantabile that was born ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from my hands after I properly learned the instrument.

For reference, I was planning to let my sister hear the accompaniment for Cantabile.

It was a bit cringy, but Cantabile was a song I made with gratitude toward my sister who taught me piano.

.

.

.

Even after the performance ended, my sister was making a dazed expression.

It was obvious that she was quite surprised after hearing my piano skills and the accompaniment of the song I composed.

Yeah. With this kind of reaction, it seemed she wouldn't oppose it anymore.

From the beginning, she probably just wanted to check if my declaration was truly sincere or not, and didn't have any strong intention to oppose it.

If not, she wouldn't have personally taught me piano in my previous life.

......But.

The moment I met my sister's eyes, which somehow seemed to sparkle, I instinctively sensed that something was going wrong.