Devil’s Music

Late one night when Geon arrived home, Shihwa, who was eating watermelon and watching TV, asked, "What's with you? Why are you so late? You've been hanging out with the girl next door, haven't you?"

"Ha-ha, just made acquaintance, nothing much."

"That girl next door is innocent, treat her well. She's kind and cute, so treat her like a sister."

"Got it, she did seem that way, haha. I'm going to the rooftop to get some fresh air."

Shihwa shook her head as she watched Geon carrying his guitar to the rooftop, "Can't you go a day without singing? I don't see what's so fun about singing on the rooftop every night."

Then Shihwa's phone rang.

Jihee: "Shihwa unnie, you know… I think I saw something strange… I wanted to ask… are you asleep?"

Knowing that Jihee had spent some time with Geon, Shihwa sent a message back with a playful expression.

Shihwa: "No, I'm not sleeping. What's up?"

Jihee: "Unnie, unnie, did someone come to your house just now?"

Shihwa: "No one besides my brother, why?"

Jihee: "No, because I swear I saw Kay entering your house just now? You know Kay, right?"

Shihwa: "Yeah, I know."

Jihee: "But I definitely saw that person enter your house just now? But you said only your brother came?"

Shihwa: "Oh, Kay did come to our house."

Jihee: "??? What are you talking about?"

Shihwa: "Kay did come to this house."

Jihee: "Really?! But why did you say no one came earlier!!! What's your relationship with Kay? How do you know him? Why would he enter your house?"

Shihwa: "Kay is a son of this house, and my brother."

Jihee: "?? There's another sibling above or below Geon oppa?"

Shihwa: "No, it's one boy and one girl in our house."

Jihee: "Huh, what does that mean."

Shihwa: "ㅋㅋㅋㅋ So funny."

Jihee: "I'm so frustrated, stop teasing me……."

Shihwa: "ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ."

Meanwhile, Jihee, who had been sending messages without changing out of her clothes, threw her phone onto the bed in frustration.

"Ah, what's with this unnie! Shoot, I'll just shower first."

After a shower and drying her hair, Jihee turned on her phone and was surprised.

Shihwa: "If you're curious, come up to the rooftop now."

Jihee looked up at the ceiling since her apartment was on the 22nd floor, right below the rooftop.

Jihee, clutching her racing heart, hastily put on a tracksuit and went out again, despite just having come back in. Yoonhee asked her, "Where are you going again? You just came back."

"Ah! Just going to the convenience store for a bit!"

Rushing to the rooftop, Jihee was greeted by the soft sound of a guitar. Standing in front of the closed rooftop door, she quietly opened it to avoid making noise.

On the rooftop under a large full moon of early winter, a beautiful man was playing the guitar.

Not seeming scared at all, the man sat on the edge of the rooftop, playing the guitar. His mouth opened, and a beautiful melody filled the air.

"My friend, my friend.

The world is so complex that I cannot beat them all by my power.

When my soul shrinks in a huge storm and does not know what to do.

In a world full of hypocrisy, I do not know where to go.

The only place I can avoid, music is enough for life.

Life is not enough for music. Yes, my friend."

Jihee, intoxicated by Geon's beautiful voice, stood still with a dazed expression. The silhouette of Geon illuminated by the moonlight was enough to make a high school girl's heart race madly.

As the song ended and the guitar playing stopped, the silhouette quietly turned to look at Jihee and jumped down from the edge of the rooftop. As he approached, Jihee's heart raced even more.

Finally, as his face became visible in the moonlight, Jihee stammered, "K, Kay oppa?"

Geon came closer, looked at Jihee's face, and smiled, showing his teeth.

"It's me, Geon."

"Eh… Eh… Yes?"

"Geon oppa."

"What do… huh??"

Geon laughed as if he found Jihee's astonishment cute and ruffled her hair.

"Ha-ha, it's me. Geon. And I'm also Kay."

Jihee, too shocked to speak, just stammered in response. Geon took Jihee's hand and led her to the rooftop edge.

Having climbed onto the rooftop edge first, Geon reached out, took Jihee's hand, and pulled her up. Thankfully, there was a net-like safety fence, so it didn't seem dangerous. Sitting on the rooftop edge, Geon looked up at Jihee, who was still standing, and said,

"Sit down."

Jihee sat down with a blank expression, and Geon, taking a deep breath of the chilly rooftop air, said, "I was going to say something earlier, but your reaction was so funny, haha, sorry."

Jihee, putting her hands in her pockets and pulling out her phone, alternately looked at Geon and her phone, saying, "So, the Geon oppa who took me for a walk around the school on his bike... is Kay? Kay lives... next door to us?!!!"

Geon burst out laughing, "Krahaha!!! Yeah, oh, it's funny. Why is your reaction so funny, hah."

That day, Jihee couldn't regain her senses until Geon held her hand and led her back home.

Standing dumbfounded in front of the shoe rack after opening the front door, Jihee once again looked at her phone and sent a message.

Jihee: "Shihwa unnie, is this for real?"

Staring blankly at her phone screen, Jihee saw Shihwa's reply and broke into a bright smile.

Shihwa: "Yeah, it's real. Dead if you spread rumors. You did a lot of pretty things, so I gave you special service. Keep your mouth shut! Sleep well, Jihee."

"Kyaaaaaa!!!!!"

Jihee, banging on the shoe rack with her fists, caused a commotion until her mother, wearing pajamas, ran out yelling.

"What in the world are you doing in the middle of the night, girl!! Go to bed right now?!!"

Avoiding her mother's stern look, Jihee entered her room and laughed heartily as she looked at the chat window with Shihwa.

Jihee, lying on her bed, fell asleep looking at the chat with Shihwa. The next day, she arrived at school with a dazed expression, as if she couldn't wake from a dream. Her friends gathered around her, all looking sleep-deprived and haggard.

"Hey, Jihee Han! You traitor! So you're happy you got to see Kay, huh?"

"Wow, total betrayal! How could you ignore all those messages and calls?"

"Why are you acting like a criminal? Snap out of it!"

Munseon, Yeonju, Sangmi, Miyeong, and Jingyeong bombarded Jihee with questions, but she seemed lost in a sweet dream, not returning to reality. Jingyeong lightly pushed Jihee's back, saying, "Hey Jihee Han! You lucky girl! Living next door to such a cool oppa and even meeting Kay, you're so blessed!"

Miyeong asked with a puzzled look, "Next door oppa? What cool oppa?"

Jingyeong crossed her arms and said, "I mean, a few days ago, I saw her at the school entrance with a super handsome oppa on an incredibly expensive motorcycle?"

Munseon shook Jihee by the neck, "You! Open that cursed mouth!! Spill the beans, you thousand-year-old fox!"

Jihee, letting Munseon shake her back and forth, swayed limply. With a dreamy expression and unfocused eyes, Jihee finally opened her mouth as everyone focused on her lips.

"In our next door... our next door..."

Sangmi, frustrated, yelled out, "Ah!! So frustrating, what's next door!"

The other friends also beat their chests, shouting, "Ah!! Can I swear? I just high-fived Yama because I'm so frustrated!! Open your mouth!"

Just then, the door opened, and the teacher walked in. "Sit down, everyone. We're starting the roll call."

Seeing the teacher enter, the kids quickly found their seats. Jihee, the last to move, mumbled as she sat down, "Kay lives..."

*

Arena Biz, a small company formed by 15 developers, was only 8 months old. Despite being a small team, the company, founded by former employees of major corporations, had already launched their second game on the store.

The first game hadn't been a success, but it had achieved commendable results, satisfying the CEO, who had staked the company's future on the second shooting game.

Byungho, a Project Manager (PM) with 15 years of experience in the game industry and also a former employee of a major corporation, was reviewing the sound work files outsourced to "Studio Experience" for the second game. After launching the APK file and listening to the BGM, Byungho nodded appreciatively and said, "Phew, once it's unpacked, the quality really shines through. This is good enough to use right away. And it's quite addictive. It seems CEO Yongtae really does have the skills."

Satisfied, Byungho sent an email to confirm the addition of the sound files to the development product and picked up the phone to call Yongtae.

"Hello?"

"Ah, CEO, it's Byungho Cha."

"Ah, PM Cha. Did you check the sound file?"

"Ha-ha, yes, very satisfied. You really are something, CEO."

"That's good to hear. I was worried about getting rejected again. If that happened, we'd be out of options."

"Ha-ha, if the quality was like this from the start, there wouldn't have been any issue. Anyway, thank you. I'll apply it right away and send the final payment. But, was it you who worked on this, CEO? The quality is completely different from last time."

"Ha-ha, is that so? Last time, it was Eunpyo who worked on it, but this time, someone else did."

"Really? Not you, CEO? Did you outsource it again?"

"No, not really. It was just a friend who visited our studio and tweaked it a bit."

"Ah, that's relieving. Must be a professional musician, given the quality."

"Yes, it's Kay."

"Excuse me? Who?"

"Kay."

"Do I know this Kay you're speaking of?"

"Yes, that's the Kay."

There was a moment of silence as Byungho was taken aback.

"Please don't use Kay's name. Just 'Studio Experience' will do. We'll see each other next time."

The call ended, but Byungho couldn't take his phone away from his ear, staring into space. Snapping back to reality, he stood up abruptly and began to pace, muttering to himself.

"Not to use Kay's name... Ah, I should have been more polite when discussing the last sound file... Ah, a golden marketing opportunity just flew by..."

>

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