For The Musical Genius (Novel) - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

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Park Sun-young’s eyes widened as she read the newspaper.

Though she was just reading simple text, why was her heart beating so wildly? From the photo prominently displayed on the front page, it felt like that day’s melody was coming back to her. The first Stradivarius she had encountered in her life.

“Sun-young, what are you looking at so intently?”

Just then, Park Sun-young’s friend approached.

“Ah, Queen Elizabeth. The school is in an uproar because of it. They say the grand prize winner is 14 years old or something, and the professors are desperately trying to find out where he learned violin. While some were busy just learning proper violin posture at 14, he’s the youngest grand prize winner.”

There’s a saying that starting is half the battle. At first, she was just told to gain experience. Given the prestige of the competition, even placing would have been remarkable, but a grand prize left her speechless.

“He’s good-looking too, he’ll probably break many hearts when he’s older. Anyway, the music department is going crazy over this Queen Elizabeth grand prize. I heard someone even submitted a proposal to the department head asking to invite him as a guest lecturer.”

For music students, this was perhaps more valuable than an Olympic gold medal. There were countless students who played violin aiming for Queen Elizabeth, so there was no need to say more.

“I heard rumors that he’s from a chaebol family. Oh right, Sun-young, aren’t you tutoring someone from a wealthy family too?”

Yes, indeed she was. At first, she had casually taught him the basics, but hadn’t he already far surpassed her? It might even be better to receive guidance from Kang Hyun than taking private lessons from a famous professor. It felt like he could pinpoint lacking areas like an expert instructor. She was starting to think she should be the one paying for lessons.

“Who could his real teacher be?”

Learned from whom? Park Sun-young swallowed hard.

*

Wearing a school uniform feels incredibly awkward.

The suit I wore for decades might feel more comfortable. Don’t I look like a new employee wearing their first suit? Thinking about when I’d stop being a student, I went downstairs where Mother was waiting.

“Son, are you ready?”

I swallowed my grumbling at the sight of Mother’s bright smile. She was fixing my clothes. In my past life, distancing myself from my parents for success still pained my heart. Even my wife never properly tied my tie. Come to think of it, what would she be doing around now? Miss her? Please, I don’t want to be involved even the slightest bit.

“I’ll be careful and come back!”

I took a car driven by Driver Kim to head to the province. We’d arrive shortly after lunchtime. I was going to receive my final certificate. The reason was obvious – hadn’t my face been prominently featured in the newspaper? They probably wanted to take photos before I transferred to Seoul. Well, I didn’t particularly mind.

I had to go down to say goodbye anyway.

Daesung Middle School’s ‘Kang Hyun’ Wins Queen Elizabeth Competition Grand Prize.

They’re really quick. A large banner was already fluttering in front of the school gate. The security guard’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the luxury sedan, and I could feel the gazes of students playing soccer in the playground.

“Hyun, congratulations. I never imagined you had such talent for violin. There will be an award ceremony in the playground after lunch, so just receive your certificate then. You can say a few words if you want. Oh, and local broadcasting stations will be covering it too.”

I reunited with Kang Bong-du, who was my homeroom teacher, in the faculty office. His square jaw still twitched the same as ever. He’s one of the few true teachers I’ve met. All the teachers in the office stood up to look at my face. It wasn’t something just anyone could do, making the front page of newspapers. Just then, the principal came hurrying over from afar.

“Our Daesung Middle School’s pride, student Kang Hyun!”

I clicked my tongue internally.

It was an era without an auditorium. If there was anything fortunate, it was just that the weather was cool. Some students even seemed happy to watch the award ceremony instead of having class. Among them were Kim Dae-woo with his still chubby cheeks and Teacher Kang Hye-jung who had played me Beethoven’s Choral Symphony. Their eyes still couldn’t hide their surprise.

“Student Kang Hyun?”

They wanted me to say something to the students. Kang Bong-du looked at me with a worried expression. With the local broadcasting camera prominently there, he probably thought I was nervous. Actually, I was just catching my breath because the moment felt special. Who would have thought I’d be holding a microphone in front of the entire school like this?

“Ah ah, mic test.”

* * *

“Where did the golfer go?”

The putting was particularly difficult, perhaps because the weeds had collected dew overnight. The enthusiasm of the two elderly men was remarkable, as if they were in a golf tournament. Had Chairman Wang’s wish reached heaven? Finally, the golf ball slightly missed the hole. Watching this, Chairman Yu furrowed his brow.

“Friend, your skills have improved a lot. Want to make a bet?”

“You old geezer, trying to trick me again?”

Chairman Wang had been thoroughly beaten by Chairman Yu at Go before. In fact, Chairman Yu was slightly better at golf too. Anyone who knew Chairman Wang would have rubbed their eyes at this sight. He was someone who hated losing to anyone. Just as Chairman Yu was regretfully wiping his dry lips.

“Old man, how’s Hyun’s father doing? Is he adapting well to company life?”

“You mean Mr. Kang? He’s smart so I’m not worried, but since it’s not his preferred field, he must have some difficulties. I wish he’d become useful quickly.”

“Old man, if you really don’t have anyone else to entrust it to, hand over Dongjoo to me. Then I’ll keep it safe and pass it on to Hyun.”

It sounds like pawning something at a pawnshop. Though astronomical sums were being discussed, the two elderly men spoke casually. The scary part was that this wasn’t just idle talk – it was all feasible. At Gapyeong Country Club, known for its heavenly scenery, tall pine trees stood densely reaching for the sky. At a small rest area watched over by the old pines, a young girl was sipping orange juice. Her cheeks were fully puffed out.

“Grandfather―!”

Chairman Wang smiled at his approaching granddaughter. It was Yu-ha, who had prepared to come to the golf course together from dawn. She probably hoped Hyun would come. Her expression showed clear disappointment at that hope being dashed. Yet whenever she felt Chairman Yu’s gaze, she acted like a proper lady. Chairman Wang thought today’s kids were really hard to figure out.

“Our Yu-ha must have been bored waiting alone. What should grandfather do for you?”

“Hmm, please grant me one wish!”

A wish?

Chairman Wang remembered what happened on the airplane before. He hoped she wouldn’t throw another tantrum about wanting the violin. But he knew well Yu-ha’s stubbornness that got everything she wanted. After all, she took after Chairman Wang himself. Just then, the hole caught his eye.

“If Yu-ha can get the ball in that hole cup in one shot, grandfather will grant any wish.”

Wishes aren’t meant to be easily fulfilled. Chairman Wang’s long-held belief was that one should learn the taste of achievement from a young age. Though the distance to the hole cup wasn’t too far, it seemed impossible for a child to make a hole-in-one with one shot. But blood doesn’t lie – she immediately took out a junior driver.

“Her personality is exactly like yours, friend.”

Chairman Yu watched the scene with a hearty laugh. That determination to prepare aggressively even knowing something was impossible reminded him of Chairman Wang when he started the semiconductor industry. The caddie hurriedly prepared a golf ball. Their eyes too were full of excitement.

Just then.

Whack!

Yu-ha swung the golf club smoothly. Just looking at her swing deserved applause.

“Huh, what?”

But the golf ball’s trajectory was heading precisely towards the hole cup. Chairman Wang’s smiling expression suddenly changed.

*

“Hyun, Grandfather said he’ll eat in Pyeongchang-dong, so let’s eat by ourselves.”

Mother and the housekeeper were still best friends. There’s been non-stop laughter since Grandfather invited my parents to the Ichon-dong mansion. By the way.

“Father must be having a hard time.”

I heard at the restaurant before that Father majored in chemistry. Grandfather must have called him to Dongjoo knowing Father’s past that I don’t know about. Moreover, his assigned role was administrative, not research. I understand Grandfather’s thinking. He intends to entrust management to Father in the future.

“He’s sleeping soundly.”

Father was slumped asleep in front of the large computer. A report was in progress on the monitor. As computers were just becoming commercialized, creating charts was also necessary. But it looked quite inadequate. It’s understandable since there wasn’t an established report format yet. Still…

Hmm.

In a way, it was natural. Father had run a laundry for many years. Of course, the content was solid. As Grandfather said, he must have indeed majored in chemistry. But reports need intuition that allows the reader to understand at a glance. This couldn’t be fixed by simply rearranging things.

Anyway, hadn’t I decided to help with all my might?

Moreover, in my past life, I had done report writing and receiving to the point of nausea. Usually, each company has its own report identity, but such a thing was unlikely in this era. Even Hangul word processor was in its early version, barely meeting basic needs.

How to change this sloppy report?

But what’s this? As soon as I made up my mind, my fingers moved quickly. I adjusted font size, typeface, character width and spacing, and even line spacing. I even rearranged awkward sentence structures to clearly show the original intent. Great!

“Son?”

Just then, Father woke up rubbing his eyes. I could see his eyes widening as he alternately looked at my fingers and the monitor. Oops, I had originally planned to explain verbally to Father, but I got carried away without realizing.

Fortunately, I hadn’t touched the content. To an outsider, it might look like a child had played around.

“H-how did you do this?”

Father blinked several times looking at the monitor. He apparently didn’t know I could handle computers so skillfully. Moreover, hadn’t I improved the intuitive understanding of the report content? Though the content was the same, it must feel like seeing a different world. Computer academies were popping up, but they wouldn’t teach report writing skills. How should I explain where I learned this?

The report template I created,

“I learned it in technology class.”

became the identity of Dongjoo in that moment.