Chapter 1

I returned as a genius violinist

Chapter 1

To me, a violinist, it was a death sentence.

“What… kind of disease?”

It was just a minor traffic accident. Of course, the severity of the accident itself was minor, but the outcome was far from it.

Especially because the injured part was my hands.

A complex fracture of the wrist and fingers. It took several months just for the treatment, let alone rehabilitation.

But the real problem was something else.

“…a disease known as …, which is not particularly rare among rare and difficult-to-treat diseases. In your case, there was a genetic predisposition, but it had not manifested until now. It seems to have suddenly developed due to trauma or stress, such as the traffic accident. This is a situation that is often reported….”

“….”

I couldn’t hear the doctor’s words clearly. The sound seemed distant, as if I were wandering in a dream.

After the accident, my limbs kept stiffening strangely, and one day, I suddenly felt my breath cut off during a competition, experiencing a panic attack.

At first, I thought it was due to the prolonged tension and excessive stress. If it was just tension and stress, the stiffness and panic could be somewhat explained.

But it wasn’t.

It turned out I had a chronic illness. It started with my limbs gradually stiffening, and there was no cure.

In other words, my body had become unsuitable for playing the violin.

If I pushed myself, the symptoms could worsen, making it impossible to move, and in the worst case, it could even be life-threatening.

“….”

To think that after a lifetime of intense effort, all that remained was this desperate body.

My family wasn’t well-off. In fact, we were rather poor, especially for pursuing a career in music. But when my mother heard I had talent, she spared no effort, doing all sorts of hard work to support me.

However… talent can be a cruel thing.

I did have talent. The problem was that it was only at the level of being the best in our school.

If you gathered all the so-called talented kids, there would be a truckload of them nationwide. Even if you became the best among them, the reality is that countless geniuses from each country would flood the world stage.

When I ventured into the larger world, my talent was like a firefly in front of the sun.

But I gritted my teeth and worked hard. I had to work even harder given our difficult circumstances.

But the end result was…

After a long slump, the joy of successfully passing the entrance exam to a prestigious high school was short-lived, as I received a thunderbolt of a diagnosis.

A deep sense of despair welled up inside me.

People often don’t realize the value of what they take for granted.

I was the same. When I was healthy, I didn’t appreciate its value.

Being able to play the violin with a healthy body was taken for granted, and I only blamed my insufficient talent.

Fingers that no longer moved at will.

I couldn’t imagine how painful it would be to have to give up music due to illness, not by choice.

* * *

Several years passed in a blur, with no clear direction.

I repeatedly took leave from school and became an adult without properly finishing high school.

It was a reality where I couldn’t afford to push myself, as the doctor had warned.

He said that excessive stress could cause the disease to progress rapidly, and once it worsened, it would be irreversible. It could even affect the heart due to muscle atrophy, so I had to be careful.

But reality is reality.

In a poor family, when one person falls ill, the whole family collapses. My mother, who had worked hard to earn my medical expenses, also fell ill, and I couldn’t ignore her, who had raised me alone without my father. I had to earn money.

Pushing myself repeatedly, my condition worsened, and now there was no hope of recovery. In short, it was the end.

That’s why I wanted to stand on stage one last time.

In my late twenties.

It was just a domestic competition, not an international stage, but I was serious.

If I was destined to fade away meaninglessly, I wanted to leave behind my music, which contained all of me.

Tchaikovsky’s Serenade Melancholique, Op.26.

I chose this piece because I couldn’t play fast, technical pieces due to my finger problems, and it also suited my current situation and feelings.

A self-deprecating laugh escaped me.

In fact, I wasn’t in a situation where I could stand on stage. My body could collapse at any moment.

But strangely, my mind was clear. I played with the determination that this was my last performance, pushing myself to the limit and pouring all my strength into it.

I had never been so engrossed in my life.

The expression "pouring one's soul" into something.

I literally poured all of me into the sound.

* * *

Professor Kim Mu-hyun, a renowned figure in the Korean violin world, sat in the center of the judges' panel, scanning the applicant's resume with a bored look.

"Seo Jin. Age…"

He wasn’t a well-known participant. His resume was unremarkable.

The only notable thing was his age, which was relatively old among the participants, but otherwise, he was ordinary.

In other words, there wasn’t much to expect. Just like the other participants.

He would probably give a routine, unremarkable performance, nothing special.

That’s what he thought.

But…

"…!"

Just as he was about to dismiss this performance without much interest, the melody that reached his ears was anything but ordinary.

A poignant and slightly tragic melody, calm yet intense.

Professor Kim Mu-hyun doubted his ears.

The sharp and clean tone, the intense emotions that surged through the air like waves.

"Ah…"

When he looked up at the stage in surprise, a young man with the number 16 was playing with his eyes closed, seemingly entrusting everything to the melody.

His fingers were slightly stiff, making the trills a bit awkward, but such minor issues were irrelevant. The overwhelming wave of emotions drowned out such details.

The melody gradually intensified. The violin’s sound reached a climax.

A passionate symphony of high notes unfolded.

The intense emotions swirled, pounding his heart. If the soul had a back, it felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer, causing a shiver.

At the peak of the emotions,

Something exploded.

"…!"

Professor Kim Mu-hyun, who had been completely absorbed in the boy’s performance, felt all his senses explode.

It wasn’t just a matter of hearing; it was a simultaneous satisfaction of all five senses, including sight.

The fantastic sensation unfolding before his eyes… how could he describe it?

Why, there’s a saying for that.

At the moment of the first kiss, the sound of a bell rings in your ears, and stars explode before your eyes.

Exactly that. A state of ecstasy unfolded before his eyes.

So moved that something deep within his heart rose to the surface.

The catharsis of music.

Something that filled his heart.

His heart ached. His chest, no, his soul, resonated.

It was an overwhelming performance. A sensory feast that made him clutch his heart.

…How, how could this happen,

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

When the performance ended, Professor Kim stood up without realizing it and clapped.

And it seemed others did the same, as a loud applause followed.

* * *

‘…What was that just now?’

On stage.

Seo Jin, who had dominated the competition hall, was barely holding on as his consciousness faded.

A moment ago, an indescribable sensation had welled up.

Especially the hallucination-like experience that unfolded when his immersion in the music reached its peak and he became one with it.

I don’t know if others felt it, but I definitely did. And the overwhelming emotion it conveyed.

With my heart still racing, it couldn’t have been an illusion.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

The applause that rang out amidst my confusion.

“…!”

It was the first standing ovation I had ever received.

…Ironically.

The stage where I received my first standing ovation was my last stage.

‘Yes. Now I really have no regrets…,’

…No, no.

I thought I wouldn’t have any regrets, but I was so, so regretful. More regretful than ever.

Only now did I realize the truth.

The feeling, the ecstasy, like a drug.

I want to play more. If I had more time…

But my body wouldn’t allow it.

“….”

My vision turned black in an instant.

The only sound was the distant murmur of people shouting in surprise.

With that intense longing, I closed my eyes.

* * *

And when I opened my eyes…

I returned as a genius violinist.