Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 052
Chapter Title: Big and Beautiful (3)
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It was an utterly wondrous experience.
♪♬♩♪♬♩
His fingers moved freely, weaving out a beautiful melody. Watching his own hands perform with such masterful technique, drawing forth enchanting notes, was something he knew he'd never experience again.
♬♩♪♬♩♪
Soft at first, then building to strength with dynamic swells. Flowing gently before cascading like a fierce waterfall. Pounding the heart relentlessly, then soothing it with tender warmth.
*Amazing.*
Yeonwoo lost himself in the stunning melody Salieri conjured. It felt as if someone were tugging at his emotions. A touch of joy, then shy hesitation. Excitement giving way to fleeting disappointment, sinking into melancholy, only to surge with ecstasy.
*Music alone... can shift moods and feelings this profoundly?*
It was just a melody without lyrics, yet it pulled him in completely. He'd seen it only as a tool for influence before, but now that view shattered. There was something in this music—a drought-ending rain—that could soak even the parched soul.
*It's incredible.*
Yeonwoo sank deeper into the sounds his hands produced.
And that's why he didn't notice.
"......What the hell is going on?"
Someone whispering in shocked awe, filming the whole scene.
***
*Ding!*
Only when his fingers struck the final key did Yeonwoo finally emerge from Salieri's magical music.
[What do you think? This piece I poured my soul into.]
"It's wonderful."
[Haha! Is that all?]
Even after Salieri departed, the smooth feel of the keys lingered on his fingertips.
[But your brief praise pleases me more than any florid flattery I've ever heard!]
The elegant gentleman smiled softly.
"I'm no expert in music. But even to my untrained ears, it was breathtaking. I always thought classical was stuffy and outdated, but clearly that's not the whole story."
[Strictly speaking, this piece isn't in the style I composed in life.]
Salieri explained.
[In my later years, I became the epitome of conservative music, as they say. People's tastes evolve, but I clung to my own world instead of adapting. Stubbornness, perhaps. Or maybe just the rigidity of age. As public tastes shifted, I gradually stopped composing. I felt unappreciated. But...]
"Your mind changed?"
[Yes. Only in death did I realize I'd become too fixated on the forms of the era. I'd started out loving music purely, but somewhere along the way, it flipped—I craved validation through it.]
As a spirit newly awakened after death, Salieri reflected.
The shining passion for music had vanished, leaving only a shameful, frail human desperate for acclaim via his art.
It was a betrayal of the music he'd devoted his life to.
[So I thought: Away with waiting for applause or hits. Back to basics. Play the music I truly loved.]
"And that music is... this piece?"
[Precisely. My life woven into sound. Fingers free to roam, thoughts to flow, emotions to guide.]
No rigid form, Salieri said.
[The culmination of my life and insights. I longed to hear it performed. But I was dead—an impossibility. Until today, meeting you. A gift from the heavens.]
With graceful poise, he bowed to Yeonwoo.
His form began to fade into transparency.
And then.
*Ding!*
[You have successfully harvested lifespan.]
[Harvested Lifespan: 75 days]
*Ding!*
[Measuring request completion.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired an additional acquirable ability as reward.]
[Reward: Composition that Moves the Heart [A+]]
The long-awaited notification appeared.
***
"I have a feeling I could pull it off."
[What?]
"The piano. Feels like I could play it now."
[You couldn't hit a single note before.]
"But ever since then, I've got this gut feeling that I can."
Ever since Salieri possessed both arms.
Yeonwoo sensed a subtle strangeness in his hands.
Not bad, though...
"Doesn't it feel like my movements are more precise now?"
[Hmmmmm... Yeah, I think so too. Oh, nice. Rub there a bit more.]
Yeonwoo's fingers glided smoothly from the yellow bird's head down its back.
*It was just one extra ability point, but...*
Perhaps because a maestro who'd mastered his craft had briefly inhabited him. His hand movements and touch felt exquisitely refined.
*Not that I'm complaining.*
When Yeonwoo finished Salieri's performance and rejoined the group.
-Yeonwoo-ssi, did you hear that music?
-Someone was playing piano—absolutely masterful.
-Fitting for the city of music, Vienna!
-Thanks to you, we got to savor it slowly. Otherwise, we'd have moved on already.
-And your stomachache hit at the perfect timing, huh?
Kwon Sung-hyun's excuse had been exposed.
But Yeonwoo couldn't exactly say, *Actually, no stomachache—that was me playing.*
So he just nodded vaguely.
Bodily functions aren't shameful. Compared to what he gained, it was nothing.
"Worth the hassle coming here."
[Hmm... Rub there more. Hurry... Mmm...]
Stroking the blissed-out Dongja-ryeong with eyes closed, Yeonwoo thought.
Somehow, this reward vacation felt like it might be more fun than expected.
***
*What is this, tripping over masters everywhere I go?*
Strictly speaking, not quite stumbling blocks.
But plenty of spirits with surprisingly high, useful extra abilities.
*Europe really is the continent of art.*
Especially in the eastern Europe spots the drama team targeted—music-famous nations teeming with artsy ghosts everywhere.
Obscure figures, yet their abilities left his jaw dropping, time and again.
*Jackpot central.*
If the entertainment world was a gold mine called lifespan, this vacation spot was a harvest-ready field of extra stats.
The more, the merrier—an ancient sage's wisdom.
Yeonwoo followed it diligently.
*Skills I might never snag again. Gotta collect 'em all.*
When else would he visit Europe? Encounter these ghosts?
What if they moved on before his return...?
So he pursued every extra ability possible.
Sadly, aside from Salieri's, he snagged only one more.
"Local ghosts don't seem too grudge-heavy?"
[Look at 'em. With those roller wigs—who could hold a grudge looking that ridiculous? They probably crack themselves up.]
"No way to swipe more...?"
[...Yeonwoo. You've changed.]
The yellow bird wiped mock tears with its wing, watching his serious pondering.
"With verified masters overflowing, how could I not get greedy?"
Yeonwoo recalled yesterday's lucky grab.
[Eyes Brimming with Pathos [A]]
Acquired after Salieri's *Composition that Moves the Heart*.
The story behind it...
-Um, excuse me. Can you see me?
While following the tour guide, a shy figure approached Yeonwoo.
A stunning noblewoman in lavish attire spoke first.
He'd been blocking nuisances with spiritual power till then.
Yet she slipped through?
-Well...
His wary, sharp retort blurred before completing.
Elegant long neck. Slender limbs. Delicate fluttering lashes.
Stunningly beautiful at a glance.
But it wasn't her looks.
The moment their eyes met—deep ocean-blue pools.
Yeonwoo had no choice but to answer.
-......Yes. I see you.
-Oh, good. I was worried you'd snap at me for bothering you.
Those subtly rippling eyes held his gaze captive.
-Um... I have a favor to ask...
She smiled brightly, jewels on her wig and dress tinkling.
As if his yes was a given—no hint of rejection on her face.
Meeting her eyes again, Yeonwoo unwittingly replied.
-Yes. What is it?
-Down there, under that bridge—my beloved child from life. The sweet, adorable one who cared for me at the theater. But she's scared of me. Heartbreaking.
-Why?
-Because I'm dead.
-Pardon?
-She fears ghosts.
-If she was dear to you in life... isn't she dead now too?
-Yes. A ghost afraid of ghosts.
Not entirely unheard of.
Most lingering spirits don't grasp their death at first. Then denial sets in.
*Ghosts here are weird. The hotel ones too.*
Anyway, Yeonwoo humored the self-proclaimed prima donna's request: relay a message to the girl.
Hoping a living voice might help her accept reality.
Absurd, but he delivered it earnestly.
*These freak abilities are straight-up cheats.*
Simple reason.
Her hypnotic gaze worked perfectly on him.
He fulfilled the request in a trance, harvesting the extra ability like slyly scaling a fence.
[Still, Yeonwoo. No stealing. No stealing. We lack lifespan, not pride!]
The yellow bird's nag yanked him from reverie.
"What nonsense is that?"
[Cold city boy vibe. Be warm to your little birdie!]
"Have you lost it...?"
Bird flu? Picked up some weird phrase.
"Quiet down and stay put in the hood... Hm?"
Yeonwoo paused mid-press on the bird's head with his arm back.
One marvel since arriving: streets alive with performers of every instrument imaginable.
Music city vibes—guitars, electric pianos, saxophones, flutes, clarinets, cellos, rarities galore.
And what caught his eye?
A violinist.
[Whoa? Yeonwoo, you see that guy too, right?]
More precisely, the middle-aged man propping his chin beside the player.