Devil’s Music

Herald Winston smiled as he poked a fork into the salad among the served food.

“So, how was your activity in Japan?”

Geon smiled as he drank water from a stylish wine glass.

“Thanks to your concern, it went well.”

“It was Shizuka Miyawaki’s activity, right?”

“Ah, Mr. President, you know about it too. Yes, it was Shizuka’s. Surprising, you seem to have a lot of interest in the entertainment industry.”

“Haha! I want to know about anything related to Kay. Even if Shizuka’s activity was not related to Kay, I would have been interested. She is a beauty who can deliver beautiful piano melodies, after all. My wife adores her so much that she lives with her music every day.”

“That’s nice to hear, hehe. The First Lady must like music.”

Herald Winston lifted a strawberry from the salad with his fork.

“My wife majored in cello at the New England Conservatory of Music. That’s why we always live with music.”

Geon looked surprised.

“Ah, the First Lady graduated from a music college? The New England Conservatory of Music in Massachusetts, right? I know it as a prestigious school where Luciana Susanna Sean Gallery attended. She must have been very talented.”

Herald Winston twirled the fork with the bright red strawberry on it.

“The first time I saw her was when I was attending Harvard, studying political diplomacy. I was visiting to pick up some documents I had requested from a friend at MIT, and I happened to see my future wife passing by. She was a woman with a fresh smile like this strawberry. I fell in love at first sight and proposed to her during our graduate studies.”

Geon nodded, and Herald Winston continued.

“We had three sons. The eldest, John, is currently working as a congressman. The second, Bernie, is the head of surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital. And the youngest... Ahem.”

Suddenly stopping and coughing, Herald Winston hesitated, which led Geon to quietly put down his fork and ask.

“The youngest? It’s not that he has a job lesser than a congressman or a head of surgery that you can’t talk about it, is it?”

Herald Winston, seeing Geon’s disappointed look, hastily waved his hands.

“No, no! That’s not it... The youngest is majoring in double bass at Oberlin College..”

Geon looked puzzled and did some mental calculations before asking.

“A son, still a student? If the eldest is a congressman, he must be quite old.”

Herald Winston nodded slightly, finally placing the uneaten strawberry on the plate.

“Yes, the youngest was born late. He seems to have taken after his mother, having more interest in music than in studies, thus went to a music college.”

“Hmm.. I see. Oberlin College is also a prestigious school. It must be nice having all three sons shining bright.”

“Uhm... Ahem.”

Seeing Herald Winston grimace and cough, Geon asked.

“Is there a problem?”

Herald Winston rested his chin on his hand and sighed.

“Sigh, it seems that boy took after both his wife and me in halves. I’ve mentioned this in Nepal, right? That I used to be in a band when I was younger. Back then, I was obsessed with the guitar. Nothing else was visible to me but the guitar strings and the sound they made.”

As Geon looked intently at Herald Winston, he continued.

“The boy who was majoring in double bass suddenly decided to start a rock band and bought an electric bass guitar, started recruiting band members. This happened about 5 months ago, but my wife didn’t tell me because she thought I would get angry. By the time I found out, he had already withdrawn from school.”

Geon slightly pursed his lips and nodded.

“That must have been surprising. So, is he in a rock band now?”

Herald Winston sighed deeply.

“Sigh... No. It seems he is looking around for members, but his standards are unnecessarily high, so he hasn’t found anyone that meets his criteria yet. He’s been looking for members for more than 3 months now, but it seems none of the indie bands performing in clubs meet his standards.”

Geon chuckled and said.

“Your son must be quite skilled, then?”

Herald Winston smiled slightly.

“When he was playing the double bass, he had skills that were highly praised by the professors at Oberlin. I’ve only seen him play the electric bass from afar, so I’m not sure about his skills.”

“Hmm.. That’s good to hear. It’s a different instrument but shares the same bass scale, so he must have enough talent. Don’t worry too much and trust in your son.”

Herald Winston looked at Geon seriously for a while before speaking with difficulty.

“Um... Kay. It might be presumptuous of me to ask, but could I

make a request?”

“Yes, what is it?”

Herald Winston hesitated for a while with a troubled expression, but Geon reassured him with a warm smile.

“It’s okay, speak comfortably. If it’s something I can’t do, I’ll have to refuse anyway, haha.”

Herald Winston, even after seeing Geon’s smile, hesitated a bit more before speaking.

“Though Kay is still a student, I know you are already a world-renowned musician and have connections with various musicians. If it’s not too much trouble, could you possibly recommend band members for my son?”

Geon was slightly surprised by Herald Winston’s request, expecting a different one, but soon noticed the broad love of a father and smiled widely.

“You’re truly a good person, Mr. President.”

Herald Winston looked bewildered.

“Excuse me?”

Geon wiped the corner of his mouth with a deep smile.

“Actually, I had two guesses when you said you had a request. The first was that you would ask me to teach your youngest son, and the second was to convince him to go back to playing the double bass. But you, Mr. President, don’t hastily judge the right and wrong of the path your son has chosen. You just want to help him on the path he’s chosen. That’s fortunate.”

Herald Winston smiled awkwardly and a bit sheepishly.

“Haha.. It’s not that grand of a thought..”

“You’re remarkable. Most parents would start by screaming, thinking their child is heading down the wrong path. Just trusting your son makes you a wonderful father.”

“Haha.. Well... Thanks for seeing it that way.”

Geon crossed his arms and thought for a moment before speaking.

“It will be difficult to work with famous musicians. We’ll have to look for a talented person among students or young musicians. But before that, I need to see your youngest son’s skills to have something to say to those I introduce him to. They have to be a match in skill to be satisfied with each other.”

Herald Winston tapped the table with his index finger and nodded.

“That makes sense.”

Geon glanced out the window where the sunlight was coming in and said.

“If he hasn’t formed a band yet, it would be difficult to see his skills naturally.”

“Oh, no. It’s possible.”

Geon looked puzzled.

“Is there a specific place where he practices?”

Herald Winston took out a yellow envelope hidden beside the table and pulled out a few pictures. The pictures showed a blond Western man busking on the street. Geon, looking at the pictures with curiosity, saw Herald Winston scratching near his temple and saying.

“Eh... I apologize for the pictures looking like this. They were taken secretly, so they might look like surveillance photos. I took them myself, so please don’t misunderstand.”

Geon nodded slightly, and Herald Winston showed him a picture.

“This guy busks alone near the entrance of Kerry Park in Seattle around 4 PM every day. He connects his phone to an amp to play the guitar and drums and plays the bass himself. Excluding weekends, he is always there at that time, so you can see him naturally.”

Geon took the picture from Herald Winston and looked closely. The man in the picture had blond hair, nearly a bowl cut, with a middle part, and his beard ran from his sideburns to his chin and under his nose. Although the man was handsome and resembled his father, his fashion sense was lacking, wearing a loose T-shirt, an oversized jacket, and destroyed jeans that didn’t match in color. Geon, closely examining the picture, asked.

“What’s his name?”

“Kevin. Kevin Winston. He’s a year younger than Kay.”

“Younger than me? With that beard...”

“Haha, he takes after me with the beard. I have to shave twice a day because my beard grows so fast.”

“Ah.. I see.”

Noticing Geon’s gaze fixed on the picture, Herald Winston asked cautiously.

“So... Can you consider my request? I don’t mean to impose, just looking into it would be enough.”

Geon put down the picture and smiled.

“It’s no big deal. I’ll do it.”

Herald Winston’s face brightened up, and his smile grew wide.

“Haha, thank you. It’s not a small thing, I feel bad for asking someone as busy as you.”

“I can’t go to Seattle right away. I have some matters to attend to at home. I’ll visit as soon as I can.”

Herald Winston waved his hands and said.

“Of course, of course! There’s no rush. It seems like my son will have to wait for another ice age to find band members that meet his standards on his own, heh. Just whenever you have time.”

“Alright, I will.”

“Haha, oh dear, the steak has gotten cold. Let’s reheat it and eat.”

“Ah, I’m fine

, I can eat it as is.”

“Haha, then I’ll just eat it as is too. Come on, let’s eat.”

As Herald Winston continued to laugh heartily, sharing a pleasant meal with Geon, Chief of Staff Matt Bessler, who was waiting outside the restaurant door, looked inside at the joyful laughter with a stern expression. Gritting his teeth and twisting his lips, Matt muttered.

“As long as it’s not yet a deliberate move to influence the President’s will, I’ll tolerate it. But don’t get involved in politics, Kay. It’s better to stay in your lane. Especially if you want to protect what you love.”

>

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