Chapter 40

Reincarnated Genius Composer - Chapter 40 (40/482)

Thus, the much-anticipated Christmas Eve arrived.

In the evening.

As soon as Hyun-seung returned home, Hyun-a casually asked,

"Brother, did you bring the cake?"

Hyun-seung briefly replied, "Yeah," and immediately handed over the cake box he was holding.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!"

Seeing Hyun-a's delight at the cake, Hyun-seung felt that the effort of waiting in the cold to buy it was worth it.

"Since I've prepared dinner, come to the table quickly and eat!"

"Okay, I'll just hang up my coat."

"It's getting cold? Come quickly! I'm hungry and have been waiting!"

"Alright, I know."

Hyun-seung, who answered curtly, headed straight to his room, took off his coat, and hung it up...

"Where did I put it..."

He took out the Christmas gift he had hidden in the closet.

"I hope everyone likes it."

Hyun-seung hid the shopping bag behind his back and naturally moved to the dining table.

"What's this? A feast?"

"I showed off a bit."

"You didn't buy it, right?"

"It's all homemade!"

On the table, the pasta and steak that Hyun-a had worked hard on looked delicious.

"So, where did you buy all this?"

"What? Do you really want to die?"

"Share the place if it's good."

"It's all homemade!"

Hyun-seung, jokingly, subtly placed the shopping bag containing the gift under the table.

At that moment.

Father, who had just come out of the room, looked at Hyun-seung with a worried expression and signed,

- Son, you seem to have lost weight. Are you too busy to eat properly these days?

- At the end of the year, the company will give an attendance award for the cafeteria. I haven't missed a single meal.

Despite Father's concern, Hyun-seung had been living a very comfortable and prosperous life recently.

He wasn't particularly materialistic, and since he had already experienced all kinds of luxury in his previous life, he didn't overspend...

He was spending his days without any regrets, focusing on his work, completing the album, and taking good care of his family.

Moreover,

Thanks to the well-equipped cafeteria, where he often waited in line before it even opened and ate as the first one, he had gained quite a bit of weight.

'From a parent's perspective, their child always seems thin and pitiful.'

Even when Hyun-seung tried to reassure him with a joke, Father couldn't easily show a smile.

At that moment.

"Brother, let's light the candles first!"

"Yuna, why do we need to light candles?"

"Come on, it's Christmas!"

"It's not even your birthday, why..."

"Not at all! It's Jesus' birthday!"

"You're not Christian, are you?"

"I pray sometimes when I need to!"

The debate over whether to light the candles on the cake continued.

"Still..."

Hyun-a, looking very disappointed, added in a barely audible voice,

"It's Christmas, we should light the candles..."

Hyun-seung quietly replied,

"Okay, let's light them."

Suddenly,

"It's Christmas, we should light the candles—!"

Hyun-seung's childhood memory was triggered by Hyun-a's words.

When was it?

It was the year he was seven and Hyun-a was five.

It was an unusually cold winter.

On Christmas morning, as Father was about to leave for work, he tightened his coat and said,

- Hyun-seung, I'll bring a cake in the evening, so you and Hyun-a should stay at home and not fight until I come back. Take good care of Hyun-a.

- Yes! Then, will we light the candles on the cake?

- Yes, I wish I could stay home, but there's no one to work on Christmas.

- Then, we can't light the candles on the cake?

- Haha, kid. No, we can light the candles. I think I can finish work early today, so take good care of the house and Hyun-a.

When Hyun-a would sometimes throw tantrums at Father, Hyun-seung would feel annoyed, but not that day.

Thanks to Hyun-a's insistence on eating cake for Christmas, they actually got to eat cake.

- Yes, have a safe trip.

Young Hyun-seung watched Father walk down the slope of the apartment complex for a long time.

He believed Father would bring a sweet cake in the evening and continued to watch even after Father turned the corner.

Believing they would all stick candles in the cake, sing carols happily, and share the sweet cake.

However, what happened?

Father didn't come back at 7 PM, 8 PM, 9 PM, or even when the clock struck midnight.

"Brother, when will Dad come?"

"He'll be here soon."

"He said he would come today..."

"Yeah, he'll be here soon."

"He said he would bring a cake..."

As time passed, Hyun-a's face began to show signs of anxiety.

Her voice and eyes became moist, and she eventually burst into tears.

"He promised with a pinky swear..."

After crying for a while, Hyun-a spoke with a sad voice,

"Brother, I want to go to the front of the house to wait for Dad."

"It's cold outside. Let's wait inside."

"No, I want to see Dad quickly."

Hyun-a puffed up her cheeks and threw a tantrum, so Hyun-seung had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, but wear warm clothes."

While dressing and tying the scarf for his sister, who he hoped would be properly insulated, Hyun-seung felt increasingly angry at Father.

"Dad! No, it's not him..."

Every time a figure of an adult appeared in the dark alley, Hyun-a would wave her hand several times.

After standing outside for over an hour, he held his sister's frozen hands.

"Let's go back inside now."

"No!"

"You'll catch a cold if you stay out here."

Just as he was about to drag his sister back inside,

"Brother..."

Hyun-a spoke cautiously.

"What if Dad has abandoned us?"

Hyun-a's eyes welled up with tears again.

"What if he never comes home?"

Her small, delicate shoulders trembled violently.

"It's just that he's working late."

"That's not possible."

"Why would Dad abandon us?"

Hyun-seung denied it again and patted Hyun-a's back.

Perhaps...

It was a mantra he was repeating to himself.

"No, it's definitely not true."

Before being a brother, he was just a seven-year-old...

"He will definitely come."

Although he didn't say it out loud, he was also filled with the same anxiety.

In the end,

Father didn't come back until the long night was over.

"Brother, my feet hurt so much..."

To make matters worse, Hyun-a's feet were swollen red.

"That's why I told you to wait inside!"

"I don't think Dad will come."

"That's not true! Wait and see!"

There was nothing he could do.

All he could do was hold his sister's small hands with his own small hands and blow warm breath on them, saying, "Haa, haa."

"Hyun-a, let's go to sleep..."

Hyun-a, who had been complaining of pain, eventually fell asleep, snoring softly.

In the dark room,

He leaned on the light from the TV and muttered to himself,

"Hyun-a."

In fact, he was scared.

"What if Dad doesn't come back?"

What if he really never comes back?

What if we are abandoned?

He was so scared and afraid that he couldn't bear it.

"Hyun-a..."

It was just before dawn.

Creak—

Just as he was alternating between crying and dozing off,

- Hyun-seung! Hyun-a!

The front door opened.

- I'm sorry.

It was Father.

- I'm sorry for being late, I'm really sorry...

Father came back with a cast on one arm and a bandage on the opposite foot, leaning on a crutch.

Seeing Father, who was clearly injured, he thought,

- Dad.

He signed,

- I'm really relieved.

- What...

- I thought you had abandoned us.

He clung to Father's legs and buried his head.

- I thought you had abandoned us.

Unable to handle the overwhelming emotions, he cried for a long time.

Father couldn't hear, so he wouldn't know.

If he buried his face and cried silently, Father wouldn't know.

After a while,

Father spoke.

Not in sign language,

But in his voice.

"Yeon... Seung..."

He spoke with difficulty.

"Don't... cry. I... am... sorry."

Yes, Father knows everything.

What we like and dislike.

How much we love him.

He knows everything.

He would never abandon us.

And, he realized,

Adults can sometimes cry too.

Father cried.

Even though I could hear everything,

He cried silently.

Very quietly, he shed tears.

"I... am... sorry."

No one had told him, but he knew.

When adults cry,

Children should pretend not to notice.

Even if they know,

They should pretend not to notice.

Morning came.

Although Christmas had passed, they decided to light the candles on the cake.

"Brother! I'm so excited! I've never eaten cake before!"

They held hands and followed Father to the neighborhood bakery.

At that time, he didn't consider...

Father's shabby appearance is still vivid in his mind.

Father's small body.

The worn-out jacket.

The rough hands and lips.

The dark skin.

Even the old wallet he took out of his pocket.

Everything is vivid in his mind.

Our childhood.

Father's life was hard.

It wasn't anyone's fault.

Just,

Extreme poverty created the problem.

Yes, poverty was the sin.

He had come out of the dark, long tunnel of time.

Why did he forget this in his previous life?

Why did he live ignoring everything, making being busy an excuse?

At that moment,

Father patted his shoulder.

- Hyun-seung.

Then, as if reading his thoughts,

- And Hyun-a.

He apologized.

- I'm really sorry. When you were young, on Christmas.

Hyun-a smiled awkwardly.

- Dad, that was so long ago! You say the same thing every Christmas!

Why did Father always have to apologize to us?

Just because we were poor, it didn't mean we were defeated, and we weren't born to be punished.

Was poverty really the sin?

If so,

We are all innocent.

I made sure of that.

And,

I will continue to make sure of that.

Hyun-seung, who was trying to look calm, signed to Father,

- We were immature. You were seriously injured while working on the exterior, right? The fact that you came home as soon as you regained consciousness is truly amazing and grateful.

Then, he added,

- And... I admire you.

Father smiled.

- Kid, on a good day, you should only have good thoughts.

Then, he immediately started to stick the candles and said,

- Hyun-seung, you make works that can make people happy, right? Even if I don't know much, shouldn't you also have only good thoughts to make such works?

Hyun-seung fell into deep thought again.

'Works...'

He had never thought of the songs he had created as 'works' before.

Before the reincarnation, he had treated them as...

A job, a profession, or a clear business.

At that moment,

Father, who had stuck a few candles on the cake, asked again,

- I can't hear anyway.

- Yes?

- Among the works your son has made,

- Yes.

- Can you tell me which one is the best?

Suddenly,

- Maybe.

He thought this album would be the best work.

Regardless of its success, popularity, or commercial metrics.

It was the first time he had packed his and his family's stories into a work.

- I think it will be the title track of this album.

Would this album's title track become the best work?

- I really want to hear that song.

Father smiled again.

- The best work of my life is...

Hyun-seung followed the slow movements of Father's hands.

- You two.

Finally,

- Let's light the candles.

Hyun-a, who had been waiting, immediately lit the candles and exclaimed,

- Dad, close your eyes and make a wish quickly!

Hyun-a, who had finished speaking, immediately clasped her hands and closed her eyes tightly.

Father, sitting next to her, followed suit and closed his eyes.

And,

Hyun-seung, who had been watching them, also closed his eyes.

In the future,

Please let us live like this.

"Let's blow? I'll blow?"

"Hey! We should blow together!"

"The first one to blow is the winner!"

"Is there such a thing?"

Hyun-a was the first to blow out the candles with her breath.

"Phew! Phew!"

Hyun-seung also started to blow vigorously.

Father, watching the siblings, smiled widely.

Then, Hyun-seung took out the shopping bag he had placed at his feet.

- Father, this is your Christmas gift.

After much consideration, the gift he chose for Father was a wallet.

Why?

For some reason, he wanted to give Father a wallet.

- Hyun-seung, this is an expensive wallet...

On top of the new wallet, filled with crisp 10,000 won bills,

He kept thinking of the old wallet he had seen at the bakery when he was young.

- Compared to my earnings, it's not expensive at all.

Then, he added,

- And it suits you well.

Hyun-a, who was urging him, asked,

"Brother! What about me? My gift?"

"Here, I found it on the way."

"Wow, amazing! What is it? Pocket money?"

The gift he had prepared for Hyun-a was pocket money.

He had asked Jeong Arin,

These days, cash is the best for kids, right?

"It's much better than a cheap gift."

"Isn't it heartless?"

"But it's practical, right?"

Hyun-seung cleared his throat and continued,

"According to Jeong Arin, cash is the best."

"Wow, amazing! Jeong Arin? The Jeong Arin I know? Arin is the best!"

"Don't spend it all at once. Save it and use it when you need it."

"Yes! Brother! Big brother! Should I bring you some water?"

Hyun-seung waved his hand at Hyun-a, who was exaggerating her loyalty, and said casually,

"Our family."

It's Christmas.

"Merry Christmas."

This Christmas is truly...

The best Christmas of both lives.

I hope we can live happily like this in the future.