Devil’s Music

The door to the annex closed, and Byung-jun burst in, rushing at Geon Kim with such fervor that he grabbed him by the collar and shook him violently.

"You, you little!! Because of you, my life expectancy has dropped by a month! You should have told me earlier, you scoundrel!"

Geon, who seemed to have anticipated Byung-jun's grip on his collar, turned his eyes towards Kiska, who was standing beside him, and smiled broadly.

Kiska flinched as Byung-jun grabbed Geon's collar but relaxed upon seeing Geon smiling, and then looked back at him with an expressionless face.

"Hahaha!! I wanted to see how shocked you'd be, so I played a prank on you."

"What!! You little!! No, no! Where's the bathroom here!"

"Huh? Over there. Why, is it urgent?"

"It's not that, you fool! I was so scared I think I wet myself a bit! I need to change my underwear!"

Geon laughed, covering his nose, as he saw Byung-jun hurriedly opening a suitcase that an associate had left at the door and taking out underwear.

Geon took Kiska's hand and stepped back, and Byung-jun, his face turning red, ran into the bathroom holding underwear in one hand.

"Come out and see! You little scoundrel!!"

As Geon laughed loudly, Kiska looked towards the bathroom door where Byung-jun had disappeared with wide eyes. After tilting her head in curiosity for a moment and looking back at Geon, who was still laughing, tears were starting to form in his eyes.

Kiska, seated on the sofa by Geon, watched silently as he took out a sketchbook and began to write with a smirk.

After exchanging a glance with Kiska, Geon wrote a line under a sentence in the sketchbook. Kiska looked on curiously as Geon wrote a few lines and then showed them to her.

I would be the sunlight in your universe.

(내가 당신 세상의 빛이 되어 드리겠어요.)

Sweetheart, if I could change the world.

(그대여, 내가 세상을 바꿀 수만 있다면 말이죠.)

Kiska saw the lines Geon had written in English under her own sentence and looked up at him with wide eyes. Geon smiled slyly and said,

"I tried to continue the lyrics Kiska wrote. Do you like it?"

Kiska hesitated for a moment before looking back at the sketchbook. After a moment of contemplation, she extended her hand.

Geon stared at Kiska's small hand for a moment before smiling and handing her the pen.

"You want the pen? Don't you like it?"

Without a word, Kiska straightened her legs, placed the sketchbook on her lap, and added a line under Geon's sentences.

And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven.

(그리고 천국에는 더 이상 눈물이 없을 거란 걸 난 알아요.)

Geon laughed heartily at what Kiska had written.

"Wow! Our Kiska, only ten years old and look at her writing! You could become a literary genius of the century! Really amazing! Got anything else in mind?"

Kiska thought for a moment before her gaze drifted to a photo of her mother hanging on the wall.

Geon, excited at first, waited quietly upon noticing Kiska's gaze fixed on her mother's photo. After a long moment, Kiska began to write again in the sketchbook.

If I could be Your child even for a day.

(단 하루 동안만이라도 당신의 자식이 될 수 있다면.)

I'd take you as my queen.

(당신을 여왕으로 받아들일 수 있을 텐데.)

Geon watched quietly with a pained expression.

‘Kiska's heart…… this is what she feels.’

After Kiska finished writing, she quietly looked down at the sketchbook. As Geon was about to comfort her, the bathroom door burst open, and Byung-jun, his face flushed with anger, stormed out.

“You…… you!! Geon Kim!!!”

Geon slowly moved away from the sofa, preparing to flee, but Byung-jun, who had recently completed his military service and was not as agile or fit as Geon, had no chance in a chase.

Thanks to Geon's swift evasion, Byung-jun ended up crashing into the sofa and then spent the next ten minutes running around the house trying to catch the fleeing Geon, eventually collapsing onto the sofa exhausted and panting.

"Damn it, that scoundrel, learned nothing but how to run away in the army, huh? So damn fast."

"Bro, let's speak in English since Kiska is here," Geon suggested, noticing Byung-jun sitting by the sofa, unable to take his eyes off the sketchbook in front of Kiska.

"I've been meaning to ask, who is this kid?"

Geon, still wary and ready to flee, cracked a smile.

"Gregory's daughter. Kiska Miocic. A ten-year-old young lady."

"Hey, I'm spent. Let's stop so you don't run off again."

"How can I trust you? You'll just tackle me."

"No! I'm serious!"

Seeing Byung-jun's genuinely exhausted state, Geon slowly approached the sofa, sitting on its edge with his hands on his knees, ready to spring up at any moment. Byung-jun chuckled at his cautiousness.

"Seriously, man. So, who's Gregory again?"

Geon pointed to the floor, indicating the owner of the house.

"The owner of this house is Gregory."

"What? The owner's daughter? Then, does that mean she's part of the ma, mafi…!!!"

Geon quickly covered Byung-jun's mouth before he could finish saying 'mafia', and Byung-jun looked at Kiska with eyes wide in shock.

"Such a doll-like beauty... she's really the boss's daughter?"

While the term 'boss' was a concern for Geon, he remembered that in America, it was commonly used for supervisors, and even Kiska's nanny used it for Gregory. He nodded.

"Yes, that's correct."

"But, why is she here?"

"We're friends, right, Kiska?"

Geon leaned towards Kiska, seeking agreement, but she continued to gaze at her sketchbook.

"But why is such a pretty child so quiet?"

Geon frowned and walked towards the window. Byung-jun caught the hint and followed him. Standing by the window, Geon spoke softly.

"She can't speak."

Byung-jun turned to look at Kiska, sitting quietly on the sofa, and whispered in surprise.

"Why? Born with it?"

"No, she lost her mother in a mafia war when she was six. She's been silent since."

"What? That's..."

"Please be careful around the child. She struggles with expressing emotions but is slowly getting better. She can't speak yet, but I believe she'll find her voice one day."

"Okay, got it… but, but..."

"What's up?"

Byung-jun slowly grasped the back of Geon's neck.

"Got you, you little..."

Geon laughed awkwardly, looking away.

"Ah… haha, what! You said you wouldn't!"

Byung-jun grinned.

"Well, I won't for tricking me. But this is for making me pee my pants with fear, you little devil! This is the Cobra Twist I've perfected from watching countless hours of mixed martial arts!"

Byung-jun quickly slipped a leg between Geon's and twisted his body, locking Geon in a hold. Geon screamed.

"Ouch! Ouch, bro! I give up! I give up!"

Despite Geon's smaller size and leaner physique, he couldn't overpower Byung-jun, who was nearly 90kg of muscle and had a healthy black skin tone. Even as Geon cried out in surrender, Byung-jun chuckled and twisted harder.

"This is for the underwear I had to buy in America, costing 118 yuan (about 20,000 won) per pair!"

"Ouch!! Seriously, it hurts! For real!"

After tormenting Geon for a while, Byung-jun finally let him go, laughing triumphantly as Geon collapsed on the floor, rubbing his neck and back.

"Man, that really hurt."

"Haha, next time you play a prank, I'll show you a D'arce choke or a triangle choke."

"What's that now?"

"Want me to show you?"

"No! No! That's okay!"

Geon frantically waved his hands, backing away, as Byung-jun reached out to help him up and slapped him on the back.

"About that song you were singing earlier."

Geon, still nursing his sore back, grimaced.

"Ow, yeah, what about the song?"

"I heard you singing earlier. You wrote that, right?"

"Yes, I made it up today."

"Today?"

"Yeah, in the garden earlier. Ow, my back really hurts!"

"Wait, you composed it today? So you haven't done any arrangement or refining yet?"

"Was there time for that?"

"Man, you've become a monster since high school."

Rubbing his neck and wincing in pain, Geon glared at Byung-jun.

"So, what about the song?"

Byung-jun paused, deep in thought, before finally speaking up.

"Have you finished that song?"

Geon's eyes widened in surprise.

"No? How could a song I started today already be finished?"

"Hmm… Have you considered releasing it as a digital single once it's complete?"

Geon was momentarily speechless, then stammered out a response.

"That song I sang earlier? The one based on what Kiska wrote in her sketchbook and improvised on the spot?"

Byung-jun crossed his arms, adopting a serious expression.

"While you were in the army, I discovered three singers. All three made it into the top 3 on the Baidu charts, one of them even held the number 1 spot for four weeks. That's why I was promoted to manager at Fantagio. My ears tell me this song is going to be a hit."

Geon, taking Byung-jun's serious tone to heart, fell into deep thought. After a moment, his gaze drifted to Kiska, sitting silently on the sofa. Turning back to Byung-jun, he said,

"I want Kiska to write the lyrics."

"That's up to you. What I need is your song, not a lyricist."

"The song will only be meaningful if it tells Kiska's story."

Byung-jun looked surprised for a moment but then nodded thoughtfully after considering the girl's situation.

"Fine, the rest can be managed by Director Lin and me. Let's record a demo of whatever you've got and send it to Director Lin. She'll give us a strategic direction, she's the best at that."

As Byung-jun and Geon discussed by the window, Kiska, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, began to write again. After a while, she pushed the sketchbook aside and looked up at Geon and Byung-jun with a blank expression. Left on the sofa, the sketchbook contained new lines beneath Kiska's previous message:

If I could be Your child even for a day.

(단 하루 동안만이라도 당신의 자식이 될 수 있다면.)

I'd take you as my queen.

(당신을 여왕으로 받아들일 수 있을 텐데.)

But for now I find.

(그러나 이제야 알았어요.)

It's only in my dreams.

(그것은 단지 나의 환상이라는 것을.)

>

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