Devil’s Music

Early in the morning, dressed only in his underwear, Byung-jun opened the door to the annex, startled by the chilling wind, and quickly went back inside to put on a jumper before coming out again.

With a cigarette in one hand, Byung-jun looked around before heading to the swing in the garden, lighting up, and exhaling a long stream of smoke.

"Ahh, cigarettes really do taste better in winter."

Byung-jun rummaged through his pockets, took out his phone, and checked an email from Fantagio. He read the email with wide eyes, letting out a snicker.

<Fantagio Report>

Artist Name: Kay (Geon Kim)

Digital Single Release (1 song): if I could change the world

Results 16 hours after release:

Billboard Chart: Not yet entered

Watermelon Chart: Real-time #1

Baidu Chart: Real-time #1

Electronic Chart: Real-time #3

YouTube Views: 60,230,923

Byung-jun laughed like a madman as he scrolled down the screen.

"60 million views on YouTube in just 16 hours! Hah, of course, Billboard compiles its charts weekly, so it's not there yet, but #1 in Korea and China, #6 in Japan, and #3 in the UK? Geon has really caused a sensation."

Byung-jun saw the bottom of the email linked to articles related to Geon. The titles alone, provided by Fantagio's data analysis team translating and linking news from around the world, were enough to satisfy him.

[Kay's new song. Blues? Rock? Pop? What genre is it exactly?]

[if I could change the world, more than a trend, a typhoon!]

[Geon Kim. Swallowing the world.]

[Global Guitarists’ Gathering. Rave reviews for Kay's new song!]

[Five Kays performing in the music video causes YouTube traffic error.]

[UK critic Norman Lebrecht. Praises it as the best music of the year!]

[Storm of Kay! Unleashing an unstoppable whirlwind!]

Without needing to read the content, Byung-jun was satisfied with just the titles but frowned upon seeing a short note after the email.

[Special Note] American paparazzi spotted entering Red Castle. Were lurking around the house but were dealt with by the Red Mafia.

Byung-jun frowned, taking a deep drag from his cigarette.

"Dealt with? Surely not… right?"

After pondering for a moment, Byung-jun quickly stamped out his cigarette and ran back inside to dress properly before heading out. He asked a passing mafia member, "Excuse me, but where is Miroslav?"

The member looked Byung-jun up and down, then gestured to the right and walked on. Byung-jun followed the member towards a small door next to the main building.

After passing through a long corridor and three doors, a staircase leading down to a basement appeared. The member gestured for Byung-jun to head down and stood guard.

Hesitantly, Byung-jun went downstairs and met Miroslav coming up.

Despite feeling a bit safer, Byung-jun was still nervous upon encountering Miroslav in such a place and stuttered, "Mi, Mi, Miroslav sir."

Miroslav glanced behind him and pushed Byung-jun, "Let's talk upstairs."

Pushed by Miroslav's strength, Byung-jun ascended the stairs, where Miroslav blocked the way and asked, "What's the matter?"

Byung-jun, looking back nervously, inquired, "Um, about those people taking pictures around here yesterday..."

Miroslav turned to the member who brought Byung-jun, who shrugged, indicating he didn't know. Miroslav, resting his hands on his hips, asked, "Yes, and?"

"J-Just curious what happened to them."

Miroslav shook his head slightly, "Such minor details don't get reported to me. I'm not sure either. I'll let you know if I hear anything from the guards."

"Is that so?"

Byung-jun glanced suspiciously at Miroslav's back but didn't dare to push further, instead, quickly retreating.

As Byung-jun breathed heavily outside, relieved from his tension, Miroslav approached, leaning over and gasping for air beside him. Surprised by Miroslav's approach, Byung-jun stepped back.

"Cough! What's going on?"

Miroslav, hands in his pockets, tilted his head, "Why are you so startled? Is something wrong?"

Byung-jun, wiping sweat from his brow, stammered, "If Kay finds out, he won't just stand by!"

Miroslav chuckled and inquired, "What are you talking about?"

Byung-jun, sweating, pointed towards the door they had come from, "Inside there! What's happening!"

"What exactly is happening inside?"

"Well, obviously!! Flesh being torn... bones getting twisted and all!"

Miroslav leaned back, crossed his arms, and stroked his chin, "Hmm... You seem to be well informed?"

"Gasp! Is it true?"

"It's true that flesh is torn and bones get twisted."

"How could you! Such brutality! No matter how secret the situation, that's a violation of human rights!"

Miroslav smirked, then, wrapping an arm around Byung-jun's shoulder, gestured towards the open door, "Then let's go inside."

Miroslav, with his arm still around him, forcefully led Byung-jun inside. As they were being pulled along, Byung-jun looked back at the distant annex.

"Could it be me next! Geon, I'm sorry! This is how I go... Sob."

Feeling like a cow being led to slaughter, tears welled in Byung-jun's eyes as he passed through three doors and descended the stairs.

Miroslav opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and gestured inside. Expecting a horrifying scene, Byung-jun grimaced as he entered the room. In the center, there was an operating table.

Two members were cleaning up blood-soaked towels, wearing white rubber gloves typical of a surgical room.

Unable to bear the sight on the operating table, Byung-jun closed his eyes tight.

"How could one human do this to another!"

As no one responded, Byung-jun squinted at the operating table. Despite the members' cleanup efforts, blood-soaked towels were scattered, and a notably hairy leg was visible. The term 'hairy' seemed an understatement.

"Why would a leg have so much hair? Sob."

Byung-jun's gaze followed the leg upwards to a face with a long snout and dark eyes of a shepherd dog.

A long, red umbilical cord extended from the shepherd, and a member was carefully cutting it with a scalpel.

"A dog?"

Only then did Byung-jun fully open his eyes to see a shepherd dog licking six puppies on the operating table. Astonished, Byung-jun turned to Miroslav, who approached with a smirk.

"I see where the misunderstanding might have come from. Haha."

Miroslav patted Byung-jun's back and looked down at the puppies, "We're in the natural gas mafia business. We don't kill people unless it's crucial to our operations. The paparazzi around the house yesterday were just scared off, nothing more."

Relieved, Byung-jun collapsed to the floor, and Miroslav looked down at him with amusement. Byung-jun, looking up at him with resentment, exclaimed, "You scared me! Ouch, my heart."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Laughter filled the basement as Miroslav and the other members joined in.

* * *

Kiska awoke from a peaceful sleep, perhaps for the first time in days without a nightmare.

Her cheeks, once pale, now flushed with color, she looked healthier than when she first met Geon. The nanny, who had been sitting by the bed early in the morning because of Kiska's tendency to run off immediately upon waking, smiled and greeted her.

"You're awake, miss?"

Kiska glanced at the nanny and then attempted to get out of bed, but the nanny offered her earphones instead. Kiska stared at the earphones intensely, and the nanny explained with a smile.

"It's a gift from Kay for you, miss. He says to listen to the music."

At the mention of Kay's name, Kiska flinched and carefully took the earphones, placing them in her ears.

As the nanny played the music on her phone, beautiful guitar sounds filled Kiska's ears, reminiscent of the guitar Geon used to play by her side. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Soon, Geon's beautiful voice followed, and the lyrics, which Kiska realized she had written in her sketchbook, shocked her. She looked up at the nanny with wide eyes.

The nanny smiled and gestured towards the phone.

"Would you like to see the screen?"

Holding the phone, Kiska saw the music information displayed on the screen and her eyes widened even more.

[if I could change the world]

Composition by Kay.

Lyrics by Kiska Miocic.

Though her expression remained mostly unchanged, Kiska rubbed her name on the screen several times, her lips twitching into a slight smile.

As Kiska's smile gradually grew, the nanny covered her mouth in astonishment.

'She smiled! Such a bright smile!'

As Kiska sat on the bed with her arms raised joyfully, tears welled up in the nanny's eyes at the sight of such pure happiness. She quickly turned away to wipe away the tears, her eyes red from the emotion, and then looked back at Kiska, who was happily shaking to the music through the earphones.

"Miss! It's wonderful to see you move forward like this, step by step. You're truly admirable!"

The nanny gazed out the window of the second floor towards the distant annex, feeling a serene happiness for the first time in a long while. She quietly bowed her head in gratitude.

"Thank you. Thank you, Kay."

After the music finished, Kiska removed the earphones and handed them back to the nanny. Snapped out of her reverie, the nanny accepted the earphones with a smile and said,

"What shall we wear today, miss? Kay likes white, I heard."

Kiska looked at the nanny with wide eyes for a moment before jumping out of bed and rummaging through the wardrobe. Wiggling her small backside as she searched, she finally emerged with a white dress in her hands.

>

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