章 128: Chapter 128: Ready For First Edition
Life at Red Castle was exceedingly peaceful. Given that there were over a hundred personnel guarding the vicinity, it was natural for the interior to remain tranquil regardless of the events outside.
Geon Kim and Kiska could stroll through the vast lawns without concern for others and sit on the grass under the sunshine, strumming a guitar. Unexpectedly comfortable, the duo was inseparable.
Days passed, and on a day like any other, Geon, playing guitar under the warm afternoon sun on the lawn, noticed Kiska, who had fallen asleep beside him while drawing, had scribbled a sentence in her sketchbook.
"Huh? What's this written? I can't understand since it's in Russian."
Geon waved at an armed guard nearby, careful not to wake Kiska. The guard, closely attentive despite the distance, approached upon recognizing Geon's gesture. The guard, with short cropped blonde hair resembling a familiar figure from Korean saunas, was asked by Geon.
"You're Dmitry, right?"
Dmitry, hiding his machine gun behind him, peeked over and nodded upon seeing the sleeping Kiska.
"Could you please tell me what this means?"
Dmitry, upon seeing the sketchbook handed over by Geon, immediately recognized Kiska's handwriting and showed a somber expression. He pointed to the first line after a brief contemplation.
"This line, Если бы я мог изменить мир, means 'If I could change the world'. Did Miss Kiska write this?"
"Yes, that's right."
Dmitry sighed lightly and continued.
"Let me read it for you. 'If I could change the world, I'd turn back time, to those moments. To the times hidden away where no one knew, to go back and save you...'"
Geon looked down at the sleeping Kiska with a pained expression. Dmitry, sharing Geon's sentiment, spoke softly.
"The lady does not yearn for her mother. Odd, isn't it? I've never felt she wanted to see her mother. She's indifferent to photographs or portraits, possibly wanting to remember only her mother's last moments."
Geon queried, looking up at Dmitry.
"The last moments? You mean she's trying to remember the horrific scene when her mother passed?"
Dmitry nodded slightly.
"From what I heard, Natalie, Miss Kiska's mother, smiled till the very end, wishing her daughter to remember that final image."
"How do you know that? I was told everyone at the department store that day perished."
"Not everyone. One survived, albeit now crippled back in Russia. That person shielded Miss Kiska with their body, taking three bullets, hence why she's alive today."
"I see... Thank you, Dmitry."
"No problem. Here's the sketchbook."
Dmitry returned the sketchbook and resumed his guard position. Geon, after pondering over Kiska's words translated into English, decided to put them into a song, to voice on behalf of Kiska's indescribable emotions. Starting to sketch staves on the next page, he filled it with musical notes, picking up his guitar again.
"Even if it's just these four lines, let's make something of it. As Kiska writes more, I'll organize those thoughts into music, not just for her, but for the music she wishes to share."
Closing his eyes and grasping the pick, Geon began playing a solo melody, as if attempting to sketch heaven itself with the flowing lyrical tune.
After laboriously composing a section and repeatedly refining it, Geon hummed the lyrics in deep concentration.
Kiska woke up after an hour, blinking her large eyes, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The guitar's melody reached her ears.
"Ting, diding, diding~ ding~ dididing~ diding..."
Kiska lifted her head to see Geon smiling back at her as he played.
"Awake? I made a song for you. Would you like to listen?"
Kiska blinked, sat up, and turned towards Geon, who gently stroked her hair before resuming his performance.
The guitar conveyed a longing, earnest sound, to which Geon added his voice, effortlessly switching between falsetto and chest voice, conveying soft emotions.
If I could change the world,
Back in time, I'll be back then,
When I had to hide in a place where no one knew,
If you can go back then and save you.
Kiska, astonished by the lyrics reflecting her written words, looked at Geon with wide eyes.
Seeing her reaction, Geon grinned, showing his teeth. Kiska hastily glanced at her sketchbook, amazed that her words had been transformed into a song. Geon, petting her head again, suggested with a smile.
"Shall we create more together?"
Meanwhile, Byungjun, surrounded by guards as if he was arrested upon arrival at the airport, was sweating profusely as he was hurriedly escorted to a vehicle headed for Red Castle.
"Where are you taking me?! Geon, what trouble have you gotten into this time?"
A man holding a 'Welcome Mr. Lee B.J' sign at the airport had only mentioned that he was sent by Geon before hastily guiding Byungjun into the car without further explanation.
Regretting his easy trust in people upon seeing the imposing figures waiting at the car, Byungjun felt overwhelmed by their sheer size.
Silently sweating amidst the towering guards, Byungjun arrived at the entrance of Red Castle, swallowing his groans upon noticing more armed guards roaming the premises.
"Have I walked into a trap? It's not like Geon to be involved with these types of people…"
As the guards swarmed out of the car, Byungjun, trembling, was greeted by a skinhead with tattoos who peered inside to check his face, barely suppressing a gasp of shock.
"Tattoos on the head!!!"
Miroslav, examining Byungjun, asked,
"Mr. Lee, you're Geon's manager, right?"
"Yes, yes! That's me!"
"Come on out."
After the snake-tattooed head withdrew, Byungjun hurriedly slid out of the car. Standing among giants towering nearly 2 meters tall, the 175cm Byungjun felt dwarfed.
The sight of these fearsome figures, especially the bald tattooed man holding a leashed serpent and scrutinizing his face, didn't grow any more familiar.
As the most intimidating among them approached after speaking into an intercom, Byungjun's hiccups resumed.
"Is something bothering you?"
"No, no, not at all!"
Miroslav led Byungjun onto a golf cart, driving towards the mansion without a hint of concern for the hiccups plaguing his companion.
Noticing a group of men gathered ahead, Miroslav wondered aloud why they weren't on guard, causing Byungjun to follow his gaze. Over a dozen guards, weapons concealed, seemed engrossed in something.
'What's going on? Are they burying someone they've killed? Is that why this garden's bigger than a soccer field?'
As Miroslav stopped the cart and turned off the ignition, a faint guitar melody reached them. Byungjun, perking up at the sound and recognizing Geon's voice, felt a surge of relief.
'It's Geon! This isn't a trap after all.'
The guitar's unique solo, far from standard arpeggios or techniques, seemed to weave each note into a narrative of its own.
Though the music hinted at blues, its soul leaned closer to pop, with Geon's sweet voice enriching the melody. Miroslav, pausing to listen, nodded at his men gathered around.
"They're listening to Geon's song. Understandable, I was the same. But to slack off when the boss is around?"
Miroslav's murmured complaint was lost on Byungjun, captivated by the song.
Still wiping away cold sweat, Byungjun's eyes widened at the sight of Geon and a young girl sitting together on the grass.
'This is incredible! We must release this!'
On a late afternoon in early winter, within the crimson gardens of Red Castle filled with the scent of cyclamens, the first music of a future legendary musician was being crafted.
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.
"Ah! A grown man! Kiska, let's keep our distance."
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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