Chapter 28

Reckless Genius Composer's Regression - Chapter 28 (28/482)

Haneda Airport [羽田 空港]

As one of the largest international airports in Asia, it was bustling with people.

Hyun-seung naturally found his way through the crowds to the airport gate and muttered to himself.

"It seems like it's time for them to arrive."

Hyun-ah, who had been trailing behind Hyun-seung, asked casually.

"Huh? Who's coming?"

"Yeah, they're coming right on time."

In the direction Hyun-seung was looking, a sleek Rolls-Royce sedan was smoothly pulling up.

Swish.

The limousine stopped right in front of Hyun-seung, and a middle-aged man in a spotless suit got out of the driver's seat.

"Mr. Min Hyun-seung, is that correct?"

When Hyun-seung fluently replied in Japanese, "Yes, that's me," the middle-aged man, who looked like a driver, bowed and greeted him.

"Hello, sir. This is the Rolls-Royce pick-up service reserved for you at the Peninsula Oriental Tokyo. You can leave your luggage and board comfortably."

With that, Hyun-seung naturally got into the limousine...

"Relax, it's not a kidnapping. Get in quickly."

Hyun-ah, looking bewildered, alternated her gaze between Hyun-seung and the driver and asked.

"Brother, do hotels usually send cars?"

"They even send planes."

"Another lie, right? They're just loading the luggage..."

"Just get in."

"Do I need to help load the luggage?"

"Probably just get in the way."

Soon, Hyun-ah and her father, looking equally bewildered, got into the back seat of the car and couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh..."

How long had it been?

As Hyun-ah, unable to hide her excitement, took a few selfies, the car smoothly started moving towards the hotel...

"Huh?"

At a busy intersection in central Tokyo, the traffic light turned red.

"Isn't that the song Brother wrote playing?"

Hyun-ah pointed to the bustling area where 'Let's Walk Together' was playing and asked again.

"It's Seo Jin-ny's 'Let's Walk Together'! Is that right? It is! Amazing! It's really surprising to hear it in the heart of Japan..."

Looking out the window, Seo Jin-ny's face was prominently displayed on the billboard at the top of a large building.

Although he had heard that the Japanese debut was successful, he hadn't expected such popularity.

'Good for her...'

It could have gone well, but if she had met the wrong person, she might have faced a contract termination.

Hyun-seung, looking at Seo Jin-ny's fresh smile on the billboard, muttered to himself.

"Quite a good fit..."

Suddenly, Hyun-ah spoke up.

"Brother, move over a bit!"

"What?"

"Dad, let me take a picture!"

After finishing her sentence, Hyun-ah fiddled with the film camera she had brought and urged, "Quickly."

"Um, hmm..."

Hyun-seung reluctantly moved a bit and cleared his throat, then asked worriedly.

"What's wrong? Is your throat sore?"

"No."

"I was just worried because you suddenly started coughing."

"That's-."

Hyun-seung tried to continue but swallowed his words.

Photo.

Actually, he wanted to take a photo with everyone.

As an excuse for being busy...

In his previous life, he never took a family photo.

No, not just a family photo.

He didn't even have a single photo from a decent travel spot.

But.

For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say, "Let's take a photo together."

Then.

"We've arrived."

At the driver's words, he immediately looked out the window and saw that they had reached the hotel.

The three of them followed the hotelier who had come to greet them and headed towards the lobby...

Thud, thud.

Hyun-ah, looking around the lavishly decorated hotel lobby, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Wow, this is amazing..."

As if to showcase that it was the best hotel in Asia, the lobby was filled with various modern art pieces, and a magnificent chandelier was dazzlingly shining from the ceiling.

"Brother, isn't this amazing?"

Just as Hyun-ah was taking pictures of the lobby in awe...

"Hyun-ah, you know what? Seeing you so excited reminds me of a famous fairy tale."

"Is it Cinderella? I feel like a princess invited to the prince's ball."

"No, it's the story of the country mouse and the city mouse, where the country mouse just arrived in the city..."

At this, Hyun-ah exclaimed, "Hey!" and...

"Be quiet."

Hyun-seung, answering nonchalantly, immediately approached the counter.

"I'll help you check in."

The hotelier led them to a man who looked like the manager and then stepped back.

"The penthouse you reserved is on the 49th floor with a good view, as requested."

The penthouse Hyun-seung had reserved was a super-luxury room with a daily rate of nearly 2 million won.

Moreover...

As a VIP customer who had used the high-end Rolls-Royce pick-up service, the hotel staff were clearly paying attention to him.

"Would you like us to take your luggage to the room?"

Hyun-seung immediately replied, "Yes, please," and...

"Um..."

He turned to his father and asked in sign language.

- Father, are you tired?

- No, I'm fine.

- If you're tired, we can rest a bit before going out.

- Let's go now.

His father said again.

- We've come this far, so let's see as much as we can.

Hyun-seung nodded with a smile.

Right.

This time, I need to visit more places with my family.

* * *

After finishing lunch and taking a leisurely walk in the warm sunlight together...

"Brother, Brother."

At Hyun-ah's call, Hyun-seung replied indifferently.

"Only once."

"Why!"

"My ears might bleed."

At this, Hyun-ah glared at Hyun-seung for a moment and asked.

"I've been wondering, why do you speak Japanese so well?"

"Who? Me?"

"Yeah! No matter how I listen, it's too fluent."

Hyun-seung had demonstrated native-level Japanese at the airport, hotel, and even the restaurant.

Hyun-seung shrugged as if it was a bother and tried to explain nonchalantly.

"It's a secret, but I actually majored in Japanese as my second foreign language in middle school."

Hyun-ah pouted and asked accusingly.

"Who do you think I am, a fool! I also majored in it. Do you think it's believable that I can speak so well just because I majored in Japanese as my second foreign language? If that were true, all Japanese language schools would have closed! Come on, how can you be so good?"

Hyun-seung then shamelessly replied.

"I studied with anime."

"Huh...?"

"Naruto, One Piece, Love Live..."

As Hyun-ah looked confused and asked, "Really? Is that true...?" Hyun-seung smiled.

'You really fall for it easily.'

In fact, he had visited Japan so many times in his previous life that he could have gotten tired of it.

He had even come for lunch and returned on the night flight just because he wanted to eat udon.

Actually, the main reason for his frequent visits to Japan was for meetings with Japanese record companies.

"Brother, where are we?"

At this, Hyun-seung looked around the garden in front of them and replied.

"The Imperial Palace Garden."

Then he turned to his father and asked in sign language.

- This is the Imperial Palace Garden.

- Yes, it's peaceful and nice.

- Shall we walk along the path and then go in?

- Good, let's walk a bit and then go in.

A smile like a green meadow appeared on his father's face.

Click, click.

At the sudden shutter sound, they turned to see Hyun-ah taking pictures of her father's face and the garden scenery with the film camera she had taken out.

"Brother, move a bit. Let me take a picture of Dad with the garden in the background."

At her words, Hyun-seung cleared his throat again and looked around.

"Um, hmm..."

He wanted to ask for a photo.

But...

He couldn't muster the courage, even if he were to die.

"What are you doing? I asked you to move."

Finally.

"Um-."

Hyun-seung mustered his courage and said.

"Let's take a photo together."

"Huh, together?"

"Yeah, all of us."

"What's going on?"

Hyun-ah narrowed her eyes and asked.

"Brother, you hate taking photos, don't you?"

At this, Hyun-seung shrugged and replied.

"They say the only thing that remains is photos..."

"Guess we'll see how long we live."

"I thought it would be nice to have a keepsake..."

Hyun-seung added in a low voice.

"This is our first overseas trip as a family."

Hyun-ah, looking bewildered at Hyun-seung, suddenly said.

"Give it here."

Hyun-seung snatched the film camera and...

"Excuse me."

He politely asked a passerby to take a photo for them.

Chuckle!

Then Hyun-ah poked Hyun-seung's side and asked.

"Brother, are you hurt? Did you get heatstroke?"

"What?"

"They say a sudden change in character can be fatal..."

"Stop it."

Hyun-ah, pretending to be really worried, checked Hyun-seung's face.

"Taking the photo!"

The passerby shouted, and the siblings' argument came to a temporary halt.

"Hyun-ah, stand next to Dad quickly."

Hyun-seung and Hyun-ah then stood on either side of their father.

And then.

Just as Hyun-seung raised his hand to awkwardly make a V sign...

Chuckle!

Hyun-ah, noticing his V sign with a side glance, poked his side in disgust.

"Are you Min Hyun-seung? You're a ghost, right?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Where's our brother? Give him back!"

"Shh. Just take the photo, smile."

Hyun-ah poked him playfully again, and Hyun-seung turned to her and said.

"Stop it."

"Are you going to do it or not?"

"Hey, stop it."

"Hey, are you going to stop?"

"Are you really going to die?"

"Are you really going to die?"

At that moment.

"Really-!"

Hyun-seung couldn't help but burst out laughing...

"Ha ha..."

Hyun-ah also laughed mischievously.

Although it wasn't clear...

Their father, watching the lively siblings, couldn't help but smile warmly.

Click!

The shutter sound rang out.

It was the first time.

The first time in two lifetimes.

What was so difficult about...

Standing side by side and taking a photo.

Exactly.

What was so difficult about it...

* * *

Perhaps because they had taken the early morning flight, Hyun-ah and their father fell asleep as soon as they entered the accommodation...

"Um."

Unable to sleep, Hyun-seung got up and went out onto the streets of Tokyo.

"Where should I go..."

He had a few hours to kill before the reserved hot spring time.

Wandering aimlessly, he accidentally spotted a sign that read "Jazz"...

'Let's have a drink.'

Deciding this, Hyun-seung entered the bar, and a cozy interior came into view.

The white walls were already yellowed due to the smoke rising from various places...

The LP records neatly lined up on one wall gave a sense of the owner's passion for music.

On another wall, there were photos of famous musicians and notices about the month's performance lineup.

'They must have different musicians performing every day.'

Hyun-seung naturally took a seat at the bar and skillfully ordered some simple snacks and a cocktail.

Just as he was about to take a sip, the owner muttered, "Just a moment..." and started heading towards the stage.

"Hmm?"

The stage was surprisingly spacious for the size of the place.

The slender owner...

Suddenly climbed onto the stage and started tuning a double bass as tall as himself.

'Does the owner play as well?'

It couldn't be helped...

The double bass is already a rare instrument, and the one in front of him had five strings instead of the usual four.

It was a point that couldn't help but raise expectations.

However.

The expectations soon cooled and sank.

'Is he new to it?'

The owner's hands, tuning the double bass, looked awkward.

"Hmm..."

At first, he intended to watch silently until the owner finished tuning.

But after a while, he couldn't help but bite his lower lip in frustration.

'Like a pearl before a pig.'

Watching quietly, it seemed the double bass would lose its value and shine.

It was clearly an expensive instrument.

It didn't matter if the owner's playing skills were poor, but he couldn't just ignore the double bass losing its value and shine.

It had been such a good day...

If possible, he wanted to end it with a beautiful melody, even if he couldn't hear an impressive performance.

'...I can't do it.'

Finally.

"Excuse me."

Hyun-seung got up from his seat and approached the owner.

Then he pointed to the majestic double bass and asked.

"Can I try tuning it?"