Chapter 51 : Memorial (4)

The performance continues.

Just when it seemed like one song was ending, the girl started playing another song in succession.

Two songs that felt like one, yet were contrasting.

The composition is similar.

Songs that seem to imply that something happened, and that things have changed as a result.

A farewell to the sticky past, and a tribute to a new future.

The shimmering guitar sound sings endlessly for a few minutes and then falls asleep.

Just before the thunderous applause erupts, the girl raises her hand slightly.

“I’m sorry, but there’s one more song left.

Please save your applause for later.”

Su-yeon walked over, grabbed her electric guitar, and adjusted the amp settings.

Amidst the silence mixed with anticipation, the sound of the guitar gradually begins.

In the ash-covered night sky

The many stars that shone through

Flickered one by one

And opened the window of tomorrow night

“This is…”

Jun-hong narrowed his eyes.

The only song of Ha Su-yeon that was included in karaoke.

The song she sometimes saw her sing when they went to karaoke together after drinking.

The song was a typical old blues song.

A style of song that doesn’t directly express sadness.

Other than the faintly reflected fragments of emotion, there are only cheerful guitar and drum sounds.

Yesterday, I longingly

Welcomed the piercing happiness

Chasing the time I had

Endlessly hoped for someday

In Jun-hong’s opinion, most of the songs from that time were like that.

Maybe it’s because they thought that even the pain of a broken heart would eventually disappear if buried in the sands of time.

Or maybe they thought maturity meant not showing it.

At least Ha Su-yeon seemed to think so.

A person who sang sad songs without sadness, who followed the old ways exactly.

One who revered the past and declined the future.

I may be like this today and tomorrow

Always like this

I may have hoped and hoped

Yesterday and the day after tomorrow

But that kid is different.

She expresses her emotions honestly and boldly.

A torrent of playing and singing.

Soaring remorse and burning regret gradually turn to ashes.

On that morning

What I saw might have been

A bird in front of the house

People just closed their eyes and listened.

“Thank you.”

After finishing the song, Su-yeon came down.

During a short break in the concert, many people flocked to Su-yeon and started talking to her.

“I really enjoyed the song!!”, “When did you start playing the guitar?”

“The future of our country is bright.”

etc.

She answered all those questions briefly, or just smiled and headed to the waiting room.

But the conversations in the waiting room were a bit different from before.

While most people praised Ha Su-yeon’s guitar skills and Ha Su-yeon ‘s teaching skills, some expressed doubts.

“Did Ha Su-yeon really compose that?”, “Did she compose it?”

and other skeptical comments, or sarcastic remarks like, “She’s so devoted to her teacher.”

It was natural to be suspicious.

Who wouldn’t be?

A person who had shown no talent for composition for decades suddenly awakens and makes good songs just before dying after taking in a disciple?

It’s hard to believe.

It’s a story that ordinary people might believe, but they are musicians.

They know that such a thing is very unlikely to happen.

It was easier to believe that the old teacher became greedy in her old age and stole her disciple’s work.

“Young lady.

I’m really sorry, and I don’t mean to insult your teacher.

Please calm down and listen.”

An old musician who was close to Ha Su-yeon  in his youth but had a falling out with her one day.

The musician asked Su-yeon in a trembling voice.

“Did Ha Su-yeon really make that song?”

Her eyes held the question, ‘Did you actually make it or have a hand in it?’

Su-yeon answered with a slight smile.

“Yes.”

Then she took out a very old composition notebook from her guitar.

It’s hard to tell if this is Ha Su-yeon ‘s handwriting or not… but it’s a notebook filled with an antique script that shows that she learned to write a long time ago, full of age and experience.

“The teacher didn’t make it all by himself.

If you look here, there are many parts that are different from the song I sang.

Here, and here.”

The parts Su-yeon pointed out were the parts she actually sang differently.

Rounded, ‘high school girl handwriting’ was written there.

But it’s not the main melody.

The main melody remains unchanged from beginning to end.

“It’s the same with the other songs.

I only modified a few parts.”

“Did she ever tell you when she made this?”

“No, she never told me.

In fact, this notebook…”

Su-yeon pointed to the guitar case she had brought.

A secret pocket hidden inside the case.

“I took it out of there.

I didn’t know there was anything in there.

I heard about the memorial concert for my teacher, so I looked through it and found it.”

Su-yeon looked at the notebook.

A very old notebook.

Seeing Su-yeon’s slightly reddened eyes, people thought of someone’s later years.

The years she walked the wrong path.

The early years when she was arrogant, thinking she was right, and the middle years when she knew something was wrong but refused to admit it.

The later years of her life when she realized that she could no longer go back.

And in her later years, she took in a disciple and was stimulated by her disciple’s talent.

She stepped down from the path she had walked for decades and wrote new songs in secret.

But those songs never saw the light of day during his lifetime.

The teacher died, and the songs were lost in the darkness.

Until the disciple brought it out again and played it at this very moment.

Until the person who inspired her played it.

Someone took a deep breath.

Someone yawned with their mouth wide open as if nothing was wrong, blinked their eyes rapidly, or wiped their eyes without anyone noticing.

There were many people like that for some reason.

Among those people, Su-yeon was smiling faintly.

As if reminiscing about her teacher’s last moments.

‘Was it too much?’

At first, it was just to say, ‘Even so, his composing skills were at least average.’

What’s the point of taking care of a dead person’s honor?

But anyway, it’s true that Myeong-jeon was ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘, so it’s understandable to be angry.

But looking at the current situation, it had already gone far beyond what she intended.

Most of the old people who broadcast or upload videos on YouTube were saying things like, “We underestimated Ha Su-yeon , but if only she was alive when she wrote that song in her later years.

I miss Ha Su-yeon .”

‘If she were alive, she wouldn’t have been able to write that song…?’

 Ha Su-yeon closed her laptop and twisted her hair.

When she was alive as ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘, she now realized that her head was a little stiff.

This is this genre, so I should write it like this.

Even if something good comes out while writing, no, this is not what I wanted, so let’s throw it away and go back to the original.

It was a repetition of things like that.

But after becoming ‘Ha Su-yeon’, along with the creativity and talent that this kid originally had… well, anyway, she felt like her head had become softer.

She could accept things that she was uncomfortable with or didn’t want to accept before.

Therefore, the song she showed at the ‘ Ha Su-yeon Memorial Concert’ was a song she could write because she became ‘Ha Su-yeon’.

A song that ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘ could never have written.

‘Well, it’s already happened, so there’s nothing I can do about it.’

That said, Ha Su-yeon felt like she was acting impulsively these days.

Something she wouldn’t have done for sure before.

‘Come to think of it… if this kid’s talent affects me, then her personality also affects me.’

 Ha Su-yeon closed his laptop and thought for a moment.

It was quite possible.

“Ha Su-yeon!”

With a shock to her shoulder, Ha Su-yeon opened her eyes 

The music teacher glared at her, and Da-in, who was next to her, was laughing at her with a look that said she deserved it.

“Even so, sleeping so openly like that is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Uh… ah… I’m sorry.”

 Ha Su-yeon bowed her head once and grabbed her music textbook.

Do high school students these days learn music?

Aren’t they busy with college entrance exams and stuff?

Anyway, other kids are all doing other things besides her, so why is she the only one being picked on?

“Next time, we will have an instrument performance evaluation.

Choose from the songs we assigned earlier.

If you don’t have an instrument, bring a recorder or a danso.

If you can play an instrument, bring your own instrument.”

Near the end of class, the music teacher said that.

Hearing that, Ha Su-yeon thought, ‘I’ll just bring a recorder and play it…’

But unlike Ha Su-yeon , Da-in was very excited.

“Su-yeon, bring your guitar and play it!”

“Why should I?”

Da-in thought that Su-yeon would accept the opportunity to show off her skills by saying, “Oh, should I?

Hahaha.”

But Su-yeon’s answer was very different.

She had no intention of doing so.

“No, why!

You have to show off at times like this.”

“It’s a hassle…

The guitar is very heavy, and it’s not like I need to get a good grade or anything.”

 Ha Su-yeon muttered, “Do I really have to do that..?”

But Da-in showed no sign of leaving Ha Su-yeon alone until she got the answer she wanted…