Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 4



Only Krnovel

Episode 4. 21st Century Boy (1)

A day in the hospital is surprisingly boring and routine.

“Patient, I feel a little sick.”

“……yes…….”

Take the medicine given.

I get shots sometimes.

“It’s meal time.”

“……yes.”

If you give me food, I’ll eat it.

[Yes, today’s special guest is… … . The nation’s husband whom everyone envies… … .]

Kkuk-

[Back after 10 years. More powerful than ever. Super Musician Season 8! You guys… … .]

If you turn on the TV, I’ll watch it.

“I… … student.”

“yes?”

“that…….”

A nurse who strangely trails off when she sees me.

It’s partly because I’m pretty good looking, but this is for another reason.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Really? Are you really the professor’s son?”

“……yes.”

“Oh my! What should I do! How can they not look alike… … Oh, my. Haha.”

The smiling nurse left the room like that.

They’re probably out there spreading the word again.

The rumor that I am Beomseok’s son is half misunderstanding and half intentional.

I became a lamb convinced by endless brainwashing and decided to talk to the bald old man.

-You. If anyone asks, tell them he’s my son.

-why?

– Then? You’re going to say you’re over fifty? With that face?

-You believed me.

―I… … I’m the exception, you crazy idiot. I don’t know why I was so sure it was you right away, but how can you convince someone else? And I guarantee you that if you keep telling people that, one of two things will happen. You’ll either be taken to a mental hospital, or locked up in some underground research lab.

-Um… …I understand.

In addition, a bald old man named Beomseok would come to my hospital room every day and even pay for a special room with his own money, so it was impossible for rumors not to spread.

anyway.

That’s been my routine for the past month.

Are you from the future?

Of course I believe it.

How can you not believe it?

In front of my eyes was a huge, flat, and ridiculously vivid color TV.

When I look out the window, there are cars of all kinds on the road.

Even the tallest buildings soar up into the sky.

Even people are different.

For example, if we take the nurse who came in earlier, I can tell the difference between people from my time and people from today just by how they put on makeup.

I very much agreed with the guy who said that there was nothing good about standing out to people.

I spent almost a month in a small hospital room.

Thanks to that, I can now move my body quite a bit.

It wasn’t boring at all.

The future is an amazing place.

A large TV can have dozens or hundreds of channels.

Now that I’m used to using the remote control, I can turn it over and over again.

What time is it?

A world where you can watch something 24 hours a day without any end to the broadcast.

movie.

Entertainment.

Music show.

Home shopping.

news.

Whatever it is, it keeps popping up.

So, a month felt like a short time.

Drrrrrrrr—

I can tell who it is just by hearing the sound of the door.

“Are you watching TV again? If you keep watching that, you’ll become an idiot.”

He is an old balding bastard.

Is that a bald old bastard?

Whatever it is, there’s something you absolutely must hear today.

I turned off the TV and slowly turned my gaze towards the guy… …

“Tell me today. I’m ready now.”

“uh…….”

“What about our members? How are they doing?”

I cut off Beomseok’s words.

It’s funny that I even asked that.

There are bound to be stories you want to hear later.

Why, there are a lot of lines like that in movies.

I have a good story and a bad one. Which one do you want to hear first?

Beomseok answered my clear question with a relieved look on his face.

“Tae-ju hyung is the chairman of a large corporation.”

“… … That older brother?”

“Yeah. My father is the eldest son of Jaemin Group. He inherited it.”

“That’s ridiculous… …. Your family is so wealthy, so why did you act like a beggar?”

“I don’t know. I think I saw you a couple of times after the accident? As soon as Tae-joo hyung got better, his house sent people. They said they were going to arrest Tae-joo hyung.”

Taeju hyung is a skinny guy with long hair who was the leader of our band.

That’s why I always called him the long-haired bone.

“I heard it from someone else. Tae-ju hyung originally ran away from home to pursue music despite his family’s opposition. Of course, his family didn’t give him any support. You probably know why because you watch a lot of TV these days. It’s something that often appears in dramas. Still, he’s the eldest son, so his family must have been shocked after a big incident. That’s why they must have come to catch him.”

Beomseok sat on the edge of the large medical bed and continued to speak in a listless manner as if telling an old story to his nephew.

“But surprisingly, he went home on his own. It seems like he was really shocked by what happened to you. He completely gave up on music and went straight to the US, where he took what is commonly called a business management class.”

“I’m glad you’re doing well.”

“Right. I heard a lot of rumors about that hyung. He’s famous to begin with. When Taejoo hyung inherited the company, Jaemin Group was barely 30th in the business world.”

“however?”

“But what’s so special about that? Right now, I can count myself in the top five.”

“I should have shown you better.”

“That crazy guy.”

“Oh. There was a little kid there when the accident happened. What happened to him?”

“child?”

“Uh. Maybe three or four? Maybe eight? Anyway, I rode with a kid around that age.”

Even though I roughly estimated his height with my hand, Beomseok seemed completely unaware.

“There… wasn’t a child. I got there late, but didn’t anyone say there was a child at the time of the accident? Neither the police nor Tae-joo hyung.”

“Taeju hyung too?”

“Oh. There was no such thing at all. Isn’t your memory a bit distorted because of the accident? That happens a lot when you have a big accident. Like not remembering things that happened. Or thinking things that didn’t happen.”

hmm…….

No, it wasn’t. It was definitely there, wasn’t it?

I am sure of that, but… …Beomseok may have had a big accident like that and his memory may have become distorted.

I didn’t think much about it since Taejoo hyung said it wasn’t him.

It’s weird, but what’s important is the present of the other members.

“What about the other brothers?”

“Hey. Let me just have a sip of water.”

He walks over to the mini fridge, takes out a bottle of water he had filled, and gulps it down.

“Huh… … What is this? My throat is so parched… … .”

“Tell me what you drank. You’ve been making people suffer for a month, so today you’re going to throw it all up.”

“You must have seen Youngpil hyung at least once.”

“I?”

“uh.”

“where?”

In response to my question, Beomseok points to the TV with his chin.

“Over there.”

“Are you a celebrity? Are you still doing music?”

“The rest is pass. I won’t take separate questions from Youngpil hyung since you can look it up yourself. Look it up yourself.”

“Hey… just tell me everything.”

“Don’t just look at the answer, you need to know the path to get to the answer… Who said this?”

shit.

grow.

It’s something I often said when I was his friend and tutor.

“Then lastly. What about Dongshik hyung?”

“There hasn’t been any news from Dong-sik. I’m sorry.”

I felt embarrassed for no reason by the guy’s quick apology.

“Okay. Sorry, what’s the point? I’ve done so much for you.”

“No, that’s fortunate.”

“You are a doctor now thanks to me.”

“I know, too.”

Beomseok, who had been smiling, clapped his hands as if he realized something.

“That’s right! Hey. Do you remember Eunsol?”

“Yunmyeong Girls’ High School’s first-year queen bee, Kang Eun-sol?”

“Oh. Oh yeah, you little shit. You’re a guy after all.”

“If you don’t know, you’re a spy.”

“He really cried at your funeral.”

“Why him?”

“Why did you leave me like that when I couldn’t even confess to you? I said I liked you.”

under.

Beomseok said it as a joke to make people laugh, but… … .

Ah… … It’s bitter.

In the time I was gone, people missed me.

I ran through time without knowing it, while missing you again.

When I think like that, I start to feel resentful again.

At first I thought it was fate.

“If I had known, I would have confessed first.”

“Did you like it too?”

“Um… …Isn’t it strange that you don’t like it?”

“That’s how it was back then.”

I wanted to change the mood so I asked the next question.

“What about my uncle?”

“He… … emigrated overseas. It’s been quite a while. I think it’s been over 20 years.”

“Immigrant? To which country?”

Beomseok laughs bitterly at my words.

He’s old and hairless, but because I keep treating him so comfortably, he just seems like the same old guy.

I do get a little salty sometimes… … Well, who do I think I am salty about?

My life, cut off from time, is a legend.

anyway.

Beomseok answered with a bitter smile on his face.

“I don’t know. One day, all of a sudden, he just left… … And I had no direct contact with your uncle.”

“As long as you’re alive, that’s fine.”

“… … .”

“I hope you’re still alive?”

“maybe.”

I’m curious.

What would an old uncle look like?

And the two of us had quite a long silence.

I didn’t make a promise.

It just happened that way.

I was the first one to break the silence.

“… …What about dad?”

At my slow words, Beomseok bows his head deeply.

“Later… … When you get better. Let’s visit together. In our family cemetery… … Next to your grave… … I will bury you in peace.”

Beomseok was the type of person who wouldn’t answer questions about the people around him for a month.

I had been mentally preparing myself, as I had guessed what that silence meant.

Still, strength is put into the lower jaw.

I pull my chin up and look at the ceiling, and just a little bit… … is hidden.

“When and how did you return?”

“After your accident, you kept blaming yourself. You said you couldn’t take me to the amusement park even once because you were so busy working. You said you couldn’t feed me a single good meal. You couldn’t properly see how I grew up… … . You just drank alcohol every day… … . After drinking for five years, your body couldn’t handle it. That’s how you passed away… … .”

… … Destiny really is a thing of the past.

Could there be another fate as unlucky as this one?

With music too.

Also for studying.

Or maybe both were confident and capable of success.

It didn’t matter if you called it pride.

Whatever it was, I was a person who made a lot of money.

I was confident that I could soon finish my father’s hard day.

But then, out of the blue, a car accident took away 33 years of my life. Because of that, I wasn’t able to be by my father’s side when he passed away.

“… …Thank you. For being honest with me.”

“I’m sorry. I should have checked more often.”

Who should I blame in times like this?

I’m not the type of person to blame others when something happens.

But this isn’t it.

There are victims.

Then shouldn’t there be a perpetrator?

Someone you can blame, grab by the collar, and yell at.

God is that son of a bitch.

Fate is a fucking bastard!

That day, whether it was a coincidence or something else, something absurd happened… …!

There are only things that sin cannot grab by the scruff of the neck.

“Let’s go for today. Oh… … I’m sleepy, maybe because I took medicine.”

Without even looking at Beomseok leaving, he quickly turned around and covered himself with the blanket.

Bright.

Very quietly.

The light dims with a low swish, and with a final thud, darkness covers the body.

And then creak.

When I confirmed that Beomseok had left through the sound of the doorbell, the tears I had been holding back burst out.

“… … Dad… … I miss you… … .”

I have no memories, I thought it was my father’s mistake.

After working as a carpenter at construction sites all over the country, I returned home after a few days.

The face of my father that I met like that.

Rice mixed with bean sprout salad that I used to eat with my dad once or twice a week.

Then, the pink sausage that he used to grill while smiling brightly.

Even when I came home, I could always hear the sound of my dad’s hammer as he was always fixing something.

It’s all just memories… … I’m the one who’s sorry.

why.

Strangely… … Out of all those memories, I miss the sound of my dad’s farts the most.

That fart sound that made my blunt father and I laugh together…

Just twenty now.

I was still too young to lose someone.