Chapter 30

Reckless Genius Composer Returns - Chapter 30 (30/482)

Min Joon-seok.

Now in his fifties, he was an extremely bitter person.

In his youth.

After suffering from a fever, he lost his hearing completely.

The world became silent.

Yet, he really lived a hard and diligent life.

He was an employee at a coal briquette factory.

Even when his body was covered in soot, he worked tirelessly.

He moved, stacked, and loaded the coal briquettes coming down the conveyor belt.

Like a machine...

He repeated the same tasks every day at the same time, as if running in a hamster wheel.

Despite losing his hearing, he practiced reading lips diligently.

However, the language barrier was too high.

Ultimately, he became isolated at work and was busy working in silence.

Moreover, it was a time when he would barely get by with tap water for lunch to save a penny.

It was also a time when he endured hunger to pay for his younger siblings' tuition.

One day.

A warm hand called out to him.

Tap, tap.

He still remembers the soft touch on his shoulder.

“Haven’t you eaten?”

He clearly remembers the beautiful smile that came with each syllable.

She was a pretty accounting lady whom most of the young men at the factory had their eyes on.

Min Joon-seok was clumsy.

He didn’t know how to mix well with people, and he couldn’t even gauge how to start a conversation with a woman.

Nod.

“Since I’m working to make a living, I have to eat.”

When he nodded in response, the accounting lady said:

“I’ll share mine, so let’s eat together.”

Min Joon-seok imagined:

Even though I can’t hear...

The accounting lady’s voice...

Must be...

As soft and warm as a chick’s down.

Thus,

Min Joon-seok started eating with the accounting lady every day.

When did it start?

At some point, the accounting lady naturally began bringing lunch for both of them every day.

They ate together every day and occasionally spent time together on weekends.

One day, as they sat facing each other for lunch.

The accounting lady, resting her chin on her hand, looked at Min Joon-seok and spoke with a flat expression.

“Is it good?”

Nod.

“Do I cook well?”

Nod.

“Don’t you want to eat it every day?”

Nod.

“Then, will you let me take care of all three meals every day?”

Nod.

Min Joon-seok, nodding unconsciously, looked up at her.

“Let’s just live together.”

The accounting lady added in sign language:

– I mean, let’s get married.

At that moment, Min Joon-seok made a decision.

He couldn’t lose this person.

He immediately replied with his rough hands:

– I have nothing, I can’t hear, and I’m a boring guy, but I can promise one thing. I’ll make sure you never have to worry about food. I’ll live a diligent and honest life, focusing only on my family.

At those clumsy words...

“Sure, let’s get married.”

She smiled brightly.

Initially...

She had fallen for his clumsy nature.

Thus,

She naturally became his wife.

Time passed.

They had children.

“Dad-.”

It was their son, Hyun-seung.

“Dad, Dad-.”

He moved his small mouth, saying something.

It seemed like he was whining, “Dad-.”

But Min Joon-seok couldn’t hear his voice, which made him feel unbearably sad.

After some time,

Their second child, Hyun-a, was born.

A lovely daughter who resembled her mother.

He felt as if he had the whole world.

Could he really be this happy?

Every day...

He repeated the same question without fail.

One day,

His wife left him in a traffic accident.

It was his birthday.

She had promised to prepare dinner.

– Just write it down, and I’ll go.

– No, you look tired, I’ll go.

– It’s just a birthday, no need to go to so much trouble...

– What! It’s a big day for my husband.

He wept, beating his chest in front of his wife’s portrait.

He should have gone instead.

Whether it was the supermarket or a distant place, he should have gone.

Min Joon-seok was left alone to raise two children.

Even without his hearing...

He had to live a hard and bitter life.

He had the habit of rolling up the remaining toothpaste.

He had the habit of adding water to the almost empty shampoo bottle.

Even after Hyun-seung learned to read, he developed the habit of hiding overdue bills in the drawer.

One winter,

He was hit by a scam.

They said he could make a lot of money by investing his savings.

The colleague who urged him to invest disappeared, leaving him with debt.

He was clumsy and ignorant.

His determination to live a hard and bitter life crumbled.

One day,

As he was about to go to work, he had a thought.

He wanted to run away.

He wanted to give up everything and run far away.

Isn’t that what people do?

People say that people don’t change, but can’t a single thought completely change one’s life?

It was the first time he skipped work without any notice.

For the first time, he didn’t go to the factory without saying a word.

He woke the children early in the morning.

He made them wash their faces and brush their teeth, then took them out.

– Let’s go see Mom today.

The children were too young to understand their mother’s death.

He took the excited children to the city.

He had their hair cut and bought them new clothes.

– They fit well, let’s go looking nice.

Next, they went to see a movie.

It was the theater version of an animation chosen by his son.

– Dad, I’m so happy.

His son said he watched this cartoon all day with his sister while he was at work.

– Sure, enjoy the movie and then let’s go see Mom...

Of course, he couldn’t hear the sound.

The light from the screen illuminated the children’s faces.

Brightly.

His son and daughter were smiling brightly.

– Let’s go home first. Take a nap and then go see Mom.

It was past midnight when he returned home with the children.

He really intended to give up everything.

His hands trembled with guilt, and tears blurred his vision...

‘I’m sorry.’

He felt he couldn’t endure even one more day.

The children fell asleep as if they had collapsed.

He drank a bottle of soju and looked at the black bag.

It was coal.

He worked at a coal briquette factory.

Death by carbon monoxide poisoning was a common accident.

Would anyone care if such an accident happened in a dilapidated house?

He thought he had made up his mind, but the indescribable guilt prevented him from acting.

In heaven.

Would he be able to hear the children’s voices?

The voice of the wife he loved...

The voice he loved so much?

Squish.

At that moment, a small hand grabbed his sleeve.

“Dad, why are you crying?”

It was his son, who had woken up from sleep.

The little boy...

Rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked.

“Are you crying because you’re tired?”

It’s nothing.

The words stuck in his throat...

Wouldn’t come out.

“We’re sorry.”

The child hugged him with small hands.

Pat, pat.

Then, he gently patted his back and said clearly.

“The aunts said Dad must be very tired.”

Everyone’s concern is really broad.

“They said we should listen well since we were raised on charity.”

There’s nothing I can’t say in front of a child.

– Dad, we’re sorry for making you tired.

Min Joon-seok broke down at his son’s clumsy sign language.

He cried like a child...

And collapsed, hugging his son tightly.

His sobs grew louder.

It was a noise.

The iceberg in his heart was melting.

The wounds and scars were healing.

The will to live, which had been lost for a moment, returned.

It was such a noise.

– Dad, Dad...

He hugged the child who clung to his sleeve.

And then,

He sobbed for a long time, repeating the same words over and over.

I’m sorry, Dad is fine.

Min Joon-seok couldn’t hear anything.

He couldn’t hear his own voice.

He didn’t know if his words were getting through, but...

I’m sorry, Dad is fine.

I’m really sorry.

Dad is really fine.

He repeated the same words with all his might.

– I’ll live a diligent and honest life, focusing only on my family.

He couldn’t protect his wife and let her go...

He almost broke his own promise.

If he continued like this, he wouldn’t have the face to see his wife even in death.

Since he had committed a sin worthy of death...

He resolved to live as if he were dead.

He would go to work and do loading and unloading after returning from the factory.

He would deliver newspapers and milk in the early morning.

On his days off, he would look for other ways to earn money.

He tried his best to raise the children without any lack.

It was a truly bitter life.

The harsh world had made him this way.

Tap, tap.

A large hand tapped his shoulder.

– Father.

It was his son, who was comforting him.

By now...

He had grown into a fine adult.

Moreover,

Thanks to his son, he was on an overseas trip, which he never thought he would have.

After finishing the hot spring bath...

He had just entered the hotel.

– By the way, shouldn’t you get a health checkup soon?

He awkwardly replied in sign language to his son’s words.

– Dad is fine.

Min Joon-seok had become a person who thought everything was fine.

Since he had committed a sin worthy of death...

Hadn’t he resolved to endure everything?

– I’m really fine.

At this, Hyun-seung, who was still drying his wet hair, paused and replied.

– What’s fine? You should get a health checkup at least once a year at your age.

– Well, kid, I’m fine...

– Okay, since I earn enough to cover it, let’s get a health checkup as soon as we return...

Min Joon-seok smiled as he looked at his son’s sign language.

Looking out the window...

The beautiful night view of Tokyo came into view.

It was a truly sad life.

A life like a sapling in the harsh winter wind.

Cold, hard, and shaken so much...

‘It must be spring.’

Now, the long-awaited spring has finally come.

Really.

These days, everything feels like a dream.

– Father? What are you thinking?

At Hyun-seung’s repeated question in sign language, Min Joon-seok replied.

– Just that everything feels like a dream.

At this, Hyun-seung nodded in agreement.

– That’s true, life is like a big dream.

Min Joon-seok thought silently.

If life is a dream...

All the hardships of the past were just...

A long, continuous nightmare.

– Father, would you like a beer?

He sat with his son and drank beer to quench his thirst.

– What! Why did you leave me out!

Hyun-a, who had been sleeping, woke up and felt the commotion, then came out...

Seeing her brother and arguing with him, she demanded a drink.

“Hey, you’re still a kid.”

“But I want to try too!”

“Sip, no. Go back to bed.”

Min Joon-seok smiled again.

Although...

He didn’t know what words were exchanged.

But.

He was glad to see his son and daughter so happy.

– Kids.

Feeling tipsy, Min Joon-seok got up first.

– I’m going to bed first.

He felt increasingly tired due to the alcohol.

Eventually,

Min Joon-seok headed to the spacious bedroom.

He lay on the bed, looked at the ceiling, and then closed his eyes.

Lately,

He often found himself caught in such thoughts.

Can he really be this happy?

It was the same feeling he had when he first met his wife.

Now, he had no particular wishes.

What could he say?

If there was anything left to wish for...

Someday.

In the distant future, he wanted to hear his children’s voices.

Just once.

He wanted to hear them call, “Dad, Dad.”

Just once.

He wanted to hear the voice of his wife, who had left first.

Her voice must be as beautiful as her face.

Ah, yes, he wanted to hear the song his son had composed.

He got up and took out the sheet music from the bedside table.

It was the sheet music he had received from Hyun-a.

Hyun-seung’s song, which many people liked, right?

It was a grateful thing, but...

What kind of song did his son compose?

He was curious.

He was really curious.

Now, he couldn’t even remember what sound was like.

What was its form?

He couldn’t even imagine it.

Though it was a sorry thing to say to his wife.

These days, he was more curious about his son’s song...

Than his wife’s voice.

Sigh.

Min Joon-seok took a deep breath and wiped his reddened eyes.

He couldn’t hear his son’s efforts.

Even if he heard it, he couldn’t even say the obvious, “It’s really good.”

He felt a surge of emotion for a moment.

Min Joon-seok.

He was a bitter person who resolved to live as if he were dead.

Suppressing the rising emotions.

He silently looked at the sheet music, over and over.

He was still living with guilt.

Repenting, loving, and protecting, he lived on.

He resolved.

To become as bitter as he was sorry.

And.

To do better as he was sorry.

Min Joon-seok stared at the sheet music for a long time.

He kept thinking.

He kept thinking about his son’s clumsy sign language.

In front of him, crying like a child...

Desperately saying, “We’re sorry.”

“S-S-Sorry...”

He mumbled, trying to pronounce it clearly.

Whether he was pronouncing it correctly.

He couldn’t tell.

“A-A-A-Dad is fine...”

He kept mumbling.

“I-I-I’m really s-s-sorry...”

* * *

“Haa-.”

Hyun-seung, feeling tipsy, was crossing the penthouse living room to head to the bedroom.

“Hmm?”

He saw his father, who was holding a piece of paper tightly, sleeping with the door slightly open.

‘What is it?’

Hyun-seung cautiously approached his father’s bedroom...

‘This is...’

He realized that the paper in his father’s hand was the sheet music of ‘Let’s Walk Together,’ which he had composed.

A memory flashed through his mind.

In his previous life, when his father was on his deathbed, the sheet music of the songs he had composed was always by his side.

He remembered the day he was sorting through his father’s belongings.

After a life of several decades, the only thing left was a box.

Among them...

More than half were the sheet music of the songs he had composed.

“Really...”

Why did the word ‘father’ become the saddest word in the world?

“He’s always the same...”

Hyun-seung whispered softly.

“I’m sorry.”

It was an apology his father would never hear.

An apology that wouldn’t reach him...

Fell to the ground with a “thud.”

“I’ll do better.”

Suddenly, a melody came to his mind.

When he returned to Korea...

He wanted to tell his story.

Without considering commercial value.

A story he would never have told in his previous life.

A deeply personal story.

He wanted to compose a song that contained this story.

He wanted to compose such a song.