Chapter 51: The Sunk Sound

Not satisfied with just that, he clicked his tongue as if in regret, lightly kicking and scattering the shattered pieces at his feet with his shoe.

“Y-you… you bastard just… Did you just throw that?”

The Alpha, seemingly lost for words, glared with wide eyes and pointed his finger.

“My back is bad, so I accidentally let go.”

People in other booths all ran out to see what was happening.

Instead of offering an excuse to them, Euigeon turned around and went to the waiting room, saying he had to get his lesson now.

Looking only at his slowly retreating back, he appeared like someone completely unrelated to this incident.

“Where are you going, you crazy bastard! A young brat like you, leaving things in this state… Hey, student!”

Chaewoo stared blankly at the back of his shameless head, which didn’t even budge.

The amount of shattered plates was substantial, so it seemed like cleaning them up alone would take a while.

The festival manager, who had come over after hearing the noise, was appalled and shouted at the Alpha.

“Mister, ah, how could you break all of these? What on earth are you going to do!”

“I didn’t do it, another guy did. What a strange person. Why are you complaining to me about this?”

“That’s why I’m asking, why on earth did you make the kids carry this! Listening to what the student said, you forced him to carry it when he said it was too heavy!”

Wondering what Euigeon had said to him, the manager argued that the accident was entirely the Alpha’s responsibility.

“What… forced? What are you talking about? That kid never told me he couldn’t lift it. A young guy like him was carrying them easily just fine until now, so what…!”

“You’re old enough, so stop lying. Okay? The people passing by here said they saw you forcing the student to work!”

The Alpha, who was huffing while looking for Euigeon, ultimately pointed to Chaewoo and Jeong Taehyun in front of the ice cream booth.

“They saw it too. Huh? I’m telling you to go ask them!”

The manager frowned, scanning the two up and down.

Chaewoo toyed with his yellow cap, wondering how he should explain this.

Of course, he didn’t have the slightest intention of speaking in favor of the Alpha.

“Those students are…”

In the midst of this, a customer approached as if the commotion had nothing to do with them and held out a ticket, so Chaewoo put on his apron again in a daze, scooping ice cream while listening to the ongoing conversation.

“They are the students of the performing teacher, aren’t they?”

“Yes, those kids! Ha, my luck is just terrible. A guy who suddenly rolled in from somewhere was boasting about being a dominant type, and he can’t even do his work properly.”

“Look here, mister. Why do you make the students do that kind of work? These were plates meant for the VIP audience seats.”

“They said they came to help their teacher…”

“If something goes wrong while moving things like this, it’s all our fault, so who do you think you’re complaining to right now?”

“That son of a b—no, the student did wrong, so why have you been making a fuss at me since a while ago?”

“That’s why I’m asking! Why on earth did you make a student do something so important? Did we give you money for nothing? A man whose limbs are perfectly fine and who receives a daily wage, why on earth did you make a young student who followed their professor carry such heavy things? We’re docking it from your wage.”

“Damn, are you kidding me? Why from my wage all of a sudden…”

“Ah, then should we dock it from the student who worked without even getting paid?”

“Uh… that’s… well, first of all, since I’m not the one who did it.”

Once the daily wage was brought up, the voice of the Alpha, who had been shouting to bring that son of a b*tch (Beom Euigeon) right away, gradually grew softer.

“I’m warning you, don’t ever come near the students again. Whatever you make someone do, there should be a limit, so why cause this mess? Since that student said he’d report it to the police if you pick a fight again, let’s just do our work quietly if you don’t want to ruin the event. Okay? As for the broken ones, you people figure out how to split the cost among yourselves.”

“Senior, Senior. Beom Euigeon is like a psycho, right? No, with what thoughts did he throw that on the floor and go get his lesson so peacefully? It seems he even threatened to report it to the police in the middle of it. He’s amazing, in any case.”

Jeong Taehyun was making a fuss out of obvious facts.

He found it only surprising that he had been the only one who knew Beom Euigeon was a psycho until now.

“Oh dear, students. Don’t work here anymore and go rest now. What on earth is this… It’s a mess. Good heavens, who’s going to pay for all of that?”

An older woman managing the booth approached while checking their reactions, saying he had worked hard, and dismissed Chaewoo from the booth.

Although the argument continued a bit longer after that, except for that Alpha, no one seemed to have any intention of holding Euigeon responsible.

“What’s going on?”

Kim Yunso, who had also been dismissed from her workplace, appeared belatedly and asked about the situation.

As Jeong Taehyun exaggeratedly explained what had happened just now while they walked side-by-side, they naturally distanced themselves from the ice cream booth.

In any case, with their suddenly granted freedom, the three wandered around the festival grounds until the professor’s performance began.

While eating the leftover snacks they had distributed to the staff in the morning and looking around other booths, time passed quickly.

Kim Yunso also didn’t seem as bored as she had been at first.

Perhaps it was a recent trend, as the basketball game machine they had seen in the university district last time was also set up at a game booth.

Since the first round was free, Jeong Taehyun boldly gave it a try, but failed with a disappointing score.

He paid to challenge it twice more, but the result remained the same.

Kim Yunso challenged another game and won a prize.

The two urged Chaewoo to try too, but he refused.

Because he was inwardly concerned about being the very last to receive his lesson, it was difficult for Chaewoo to participate in the festival as lightheartedly as the other two.

Since Euigeon had gone in to receive his earlier, his own turn would only come after the professor’s performance finished.

Since it would be shameless to ask the other three to wait for him until then, he essentially had to head back to Seoul alone at night.

It was a depressing prospect.

“Seol Chaewoo, our guest is here, let’s go watch that.”

Kim Yunso nudged Chaewoo, who was lost in thought, and ran ahead.

Kim Yunso and Jeong Taehyun were already distracted by another booth.

Following slowly behind them, Chaewoo checked the time out of habit.

As expected, Chaewoo’s lesson began after the performance.

The professor summoned Chaewoo immediately after the performance ended.

Passing through a narrow hallway and entering the waiting room, the professor was sitting in a chair, not having even removed her stage makeup yet.

Chaewoo was also exhausted, but he inwardly admired her stamina.

Because it was by no means an easy feat for a musician facing a stage performance to manage their condition while conducting lessons in between.

“You’ve waited a long time, Chaewoo. Since we’re both tired, shall we start right away?”

“Yes.”

The waiting room was dim, as the indoor lights were mostly turned off.

To the extent that even his sheet music was faintly visible.

However, unable to readily flip the switch in the heavy atmosphere, Chaewoo performed his prepared competition song right away without any time to warm up his voice.

Even though it was a moment he had wished for so much, when it actually arrived, his skills didn’t show as much as he had prepared.

Not even a few seconds after he opened his mouth, a heavy air, as if all conditions were failing to cooperate, enveloped Chaewoo.

The location, the situation, and the atmosphere were all different from usual.

Because he had been running around outside all day, he hadn’t managed his throat properly, and since he had been awake since early morning, his voice sank low as evening arrived.

Outside, festival personnel were still moving around, and all sorts of noise and distractions were overflowing.

The professor used to listen to the performance with her eyes closed.

Although they said there were some professors who yelled at students to leave or cursed in other classes, Chaewoo’s professor was on the relatively gentle side when it came to the lesson atmosphere.

Even so, he was nervous enough to break into a cold sweat.

The professor, who had listened quietly until the performance—which had quite a few mistakes—ended, opened her eyes.

Scanning through several notes she had made in between, she spoke.

“It’s mediocre.”

At that, Chaewoo’s mouth went completely dry.

“My first impression is that it feels like you deliberately selected a song the judges would like, rather than doing what you love.”

“That’s not… the case.”

The response came out a bit bluntly.

Because a sense of rejection arose first upon hearing a professor—who was usually a snob caring only for her successful students and who openly made him wait on her at all sorts of performances and schedules like this—suddenly say, “Why did you choose what others like instead of doing what you love?”

Moreover, Chaewoo had expected the professor to like this song.

Therefore, her lukewarm response felt like he had been hit right where it hurt, leaving him even more embarrassed and ashamed.

“Really? Then sing it again.”

“Understood.”

Clearing his throat, Chaewoo began the second performance.

Although it was much more natural and comfortable than the first, the professor’s expression remained unchanged.

As he tried to gauge her reaction, he lost control of his breathing before he knew it, and the lyrics broke off in an odd place.

“Do it again.”

And then, his pitch went off.

“Again.”

He even made a mistake with the lyrics he had memorized so well.

As time passed, the atmosphere grew increasingly solemn.

Chaewoo couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.

“Sigh. What should we do with you.”

The professor let out a long sigh.

Chaewoo repeatedly clenched and uncenched his hands behind his back in anxiety.

As he repeated mistakes that even an entrance examinee wouldn’t make, at some point, he was filled with nothing but the desire to run away.

“Chaewoo?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re going to sing like this, you don’t even need to go to the competition. The result is faaar too obvious. Already, how should I put it… I can’t see the charm.”

“…….”

“Do you have another song prepared?”

“No.”

“Then it’s best to stop here. I’m too tired to continue.”

The lesson ended in less than thirty minutes.

Saying she should go in and rest now, the professor packed her things and left the waiting room.

Without even looking back, and without even a common word of appreciation.

Chaewoo stood frozen in place, and only after a long while did he fold the sheet music he had brought.

It was a shameful thing.

To gather his scattered scores and notebooks and pack his bag in the empty waiting room.

Outside, the festival was still in full swing.

The occasional burst of fireworks, bright lights, food smells, laughter, and crowds bustling at each booth.

He felt too miserable right now to blend into that scene.

Chaewoo began to walk aimlessly in the opposite direction to get away from the festival.

He didn’t even know what on earth he had done today.

To think that the result of coming all the way to Cheongju since morning for this short twenty minutes was merely this.

There were plenty of excuses for his terrible singing.

Because there was no time, because there was no suitable practice room, because there was no accompanist as excellent as before, because he was too tired…

However, there were no excuses that could bring him comfort.

Without any words to add, he had likely been kicked out without even getting a proper lesson because his skills weren’t up to par.

Chaewoo was confused.

Previously, he had been arrogant, believing his musical talent was more than enough, but recently, even such thoughts felt like a luxury.

With everything else gone, even his school life—the only thing left—was turning into a mess.

In the end, had that too been thanks to his parents, rather than something he had achieved on his own?

The depression he had struggled to suppress until now spread to every corner of his body, binding Chaewoo tight.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Night Has Fallen, Mafia—Send Your Text Messages

BLDramaModern

Read Now →
Not interested