God's Song Chapter 279-280

Amelia dropped Jina off at school and went to Jun Hyuk’s studio right away.

When she went in quietly, she wasn’t able to move a single step. Other than the path to walk to the basement studio, there were pieces of paper stuck to the floor and all of the walls.

Jun Hyuk must be in the basement because she could not see him anywhere.

When she looked up at the ceiling, it was the same.

“Amelia. What are you doing here?”

She was so surprised that she did not even notice Jun Hyuk had appeared.

“Jun. What… what… on earth…”

When Amelia couldn’t even speak properly, Jun Hyuk slightly frowned.

“It’s what I’m working on. It’s nothing. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Amelia was about to say something, but stopped. It is a scene that is hard for her to understand, but Jun Hyuk said that it is his work on music. She knows that there is no point in saying anything to him about music.

“Yeah. I came because of something else.”

“Something else?”

“It’s because of Jina.”

“Jina? Why? Did something happen at school?”

When she said Jina, Jun Hyuk jumped in surprise. This was so unbelievable she almost laughed. She realized again that to her husband, she is not there and he only cares about Jina and music.

“No. It’s not school but you.”

“Me?”

Jun Hyuk did not understand and his eyes grew wide.

“Yeah. What on earth are you doing to the kid? Jina’s just 15 years old now. Her body is weak too. How can you make a girl like that sing for 5 or 6 hours everyday when that’s even difficult for adults to handle?”

Jun Hyuk sighed in relief.

“Oh that. It’s okay. Jina’s plenty capable of handling it.”

“What are you talking about? Even if she was born with a great voice, this could ruin her body.”

Amelia’s voice became sharp and Jun Hyuk frowned more.

“Amelia. There’s a world that you don’t know. Don’t make hasty conclusions.”

“I’m not talking about geniuses right now. I’m just saying that it’s difficult physically.”

“Stop.”

Jun Hyuk put up his hand and stopped Amelia from speaking.

“When Mozart created his opera, a 1 person opera was being created in Korea. Thoughts on the song might be different but looking at just the singer, Western vocalists are young kids. The singer of the 1 person opera in Korea performs 3 or 4 hours alone. There are songs that are nearly 8 hours too. The only prop is a fan and the only accompanying instrument is a drum.”

“What, what nonsense.”

Amelia was hearing such an unbelievable thing for the first time. A 1 person opera performing an 8 hour opera?

“It’s true. And I know Jina’s condition best. She’s able to do an 8 hour performance even now.”

The long song that Jina talked about, 1 person opera, and 8 hours. Amelia became scared when she combined these words.

Is the song Jun Hyuk is writing now, one that is over 8 hours long? And does he think of Jina as just an instrument to bring out the music that he wants?

Couldn’t it be that he is thinking that it’d be okay to ruin Jina if it means that he could listen to that music even just once?

Amelia ran out of the studio and looked for Yoon Kwang Hun. If what she is imagining is true, she needs to stop it now. And the only person who can stop Jun Hyuk is Yoon Kwang Hun.

When Yoon Kwang Hun went into Jun Hyuk’s studio with Amelia, he was speechless.

Pieces of paper stuck everywhere, even to the ceiling. Those papers created a giant maze and notes filled up the maze’s pathway.

“Father, what is it? It’s so early in the morning.”

Jun Hyuk had been laying on the ground and staring at the ceiling when he bolted up.

“I wanted to have a coffee with you.”

“I’m a little busy…”

“You don’t even have time for a coffee?”

Jun Hyuk flinched under Yoon Kwang Hun’s prickly glare.

“Oh, no.”

Jun Hyuk looked at Yoon Kwang Hun and Amelia, and made coffee.

“What is that? Are you creating a maze?”

“Yes. I made it like that because I can’t organize it.”

“With notes inside a maze?”

Yoon Kwang Hun shook his head. It is a world he cannot understand anyway. There is no point in discussing a maze right now.

“You can think of that maze and those notes as the inside of my head. And I need to solve it.”

“Wasn’t it your style to write things out on a piece of paper. Being able to write out the music in your head within moments?”

“You’re right. But that’s not working for this song. I’ve drawn out exactly what’s in my mind through that maze. I need to find a path within that.”

Yoon Kwang Hun took a glance at Amelia and spoke again,

“Are you teaching Jina pansori?”

“What? Pansori?”

“Yeah. Your wife said that it looks like you’re making a 1 person opera that goes for over 8 hours. I realized right away. That’s Chunhyangga.”

Jun Hyuk blinked for a while and suddenly burst out in laughter.

“Amelia. What misunderstanding was there? I don’t know what kind of music is coming out. Look at this maze. The form will come out once I solve this.”

Jun Hyuk gestured to the pieces of paper stuck everywhere.

“Then why are you working Jina so hard? Does 5 to 6 hours make sense for a young girl like that?”

“That’s not it. Jina’s an instrument that exceeds our imaginations. I actually shortened the time because I was worried. If you leave her alone, I’m pretty sure she’ll sing for 24 hours straight.”

Yoon Kwang Hun was silent. It seems Amelia had misunderstood. This is Jun Hyuk as he is. He is just bringing out the music that is inside his head. It is just that this time, it is taking more time.

“Amelia. Father. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but Jina’s my daughter. I don’t do anything that would harm her in any way.”

Amelia seemed reassured as well. Jun Hyuk took a deep breath in and out. And then he spoke slowly and calmly.

“It is true that I’m sensitive because this is hard work for me. And I can’t think of anything beyond this maze. This is music I’ve kept with me my whole life. I can’t say how happy I am that I’m able to make a try at it because of Jina.”

“What? Music you’ve kept with you?”

Amelia’s eyes grew wide.

“It occasionally tangles up like thread… It was music that showed that a little. I was just giving up on it because there isn’t a tool or way to express it anyway…..”

Jun Hyuk grew more excited.

“The music I’ve made until now is just one piece of this thread. I’ve expressed the tangled thread through that maze. I’m anticipating what kind of form it’ll take.”

Yoon Kwang Hun spoke cautiously,

“You’re… you’re okay, right?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’m done with more than half now. You know, right? No matter how tangled a thread is, it becomes easier to untangle as you go forward. I’m going to complete it.”

Jun Hyuk squeezed Amelia’s hand.

“Amelia. I’m going to retire completely once this song is complete. And I’ll stick to you 24 hours a day. There’s no need to make more music.”

Amelia and Yoon Kwang Hun jumped in surprise. What retirement all of a sudden?

“Jun, you’re saying you won’t create music? What on earth are you talking about?”

“Because no matter how long I continue making music, there’s never going to be one better than this. All of me is in this.”

Jun Hyuk smiled brightly at Yoon Kwang Hun.

“When this is all over, I’m going to tag along behind Jina and Amelia like you did and be jobless. I’m living out your life. The only difference is that I have a lot of money? Ha ha.”

Yoon Kwang Hun took Amelia out of the studio.

“Do you think everything Jun is saying is true?”

“Amelia, don’t worry.”

Yoon Kwang Hun pat Amelia’s back.

“He’ll find the music he’s been seeking all his life. That’s an inevident reaction. There was a song you practiced like crazy too, right? Music that you practiced so much even eating seemed like a waste of time?”

“Yes.”

“It’s that. The only difference is time. Jun is just taking a few years. No, for us it’s years but for Jun, it’ll be a short moment.”

After 5 years passed since Jina was adopted, Jun Hyuk called a few people to JS Center’s studio.

He showered, shaved, and appeared at the studio in a clean suit. Next to him, Jina was grown up wearing a white dress and smiling lovingly.

“What is this? It looks like a performance.”

Yoon Kwang Hun brought up what everyone else wanted to ask.

Inside the studio, Yoon Kwang Hun, Amelia, Tara, record label Chairman Alex Zenkin, and the senior engineer were staring wide-eyed at Jun Hyuk and Jina.

“I know that you all have been worried about me. And thank you for waiting without saying anything.”

Jun Hyuk bowed his head to everyone.

“And Amelia.”

Amelia and Jun Hyuk exchanged looks.

“I’m particularly sorry to you. You must have been getting tired of watching me and waiting… I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Thank you. And I love you.”

Amelia wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke in a low voice.

“Are you all done now?”

“Yeah. Completely.”

Everyone relaxed and sighed in relief.

“We’re going to record now. Everyone, listen. This is music that holds my everything.”

The studio became wrapped in silence. The music he had shown them until now. The single song that holds the essence of those incredible results. The 5 people felt beyond anticipation to thrill at Jun Hyuk’s declaration.

The senior engineer broke the silence in the studio.

“Maestro, will you wait for a moment? I need to call in the sound engineers. I can’t control it on my own.”

“No, it’s okay. All you have to do is set Jina’s microphone to the piano. Then once you press record, it’s done.”

The senior engineer ran into the recording booth and started setting up the microphone.

“Father. Tara. I’d like to perform in 1 month, no, as soon a possible. In the large theater of the Isaac Stern Center.”

They could finally hear Jun Hyuk’s new music. Tara was so happy she felt like she might cry.

“Oh right. It’s okay to broadcast live all around the world with a station too. It’s a piece that I really want to show off for the first time.”

Jina had been silent until now, but smiled as she shouted,

“No, we need to do it. It’s a song that the whole world, no, all of humanity, needs to listen to.”

“This girl is being so arrogant. She’s so confident in herself.”

Jun Hyuk tapped Jina’s head, but Jina’s smile did not go away.

“Dad. This song…”

“Stop. We’re going to listen to play it for them now. In front of the people I love most. For the first time.”

“Jun, is it just the piano?”

“Yeah. But it’s perfect. It’s enough with just the piano and Jina’s voice.”

Tara had been expecting a magnificent orchestral part and could not hide her disappointment. It is too simple to say that it holds Jun Hyuk’s everything.

Amelia was impressed again that all that is needed is a piano. Even if Jun Hyuk had not done it on purpose, this is music that she can play as well. Her blood as a pianist began to boil.

Jun Hyuk and Jina went into the recording booth and took their positions in front of the microphone and piano.

“You’re ready?”

With Jun Hyuk’s signal, the senior engineer pushed the record button and Jina nodded.

The first powerful note came out at the end of Jun Hyuk’s fingertips on the piano, and a faint melody continued in pianissimo to drag it out. After about 1 minute, Jina started singing in a lovely voice. It was a vocalization without lyrics.

The music had Jun Hyuk’s philosophy that lyrics with meaning force emotions from the listener and limit the imagination.

3 hours passed with an endless sound where they could not tell where she was taking breaths, and Jun Hyuk and Jina were wet with sweat as they breathed shallowly.

Jun Hyuk stood up from the piano, held Jina’s hand, and came out of the recording booth.

“Jina. Shall we go home first to shower?”

“Yeah, Dad. But why is it so quiet? The song must not have been that good. No one is clapping.”

Jina needs to get a sense of everything through sound but looked disappointed when she did not hear admiration, clapping, or praise.

“They’re still not able to come back down from heaven. They’ll come back after the day passes. You did well.”

She cannot see, but she could imagine the state inside the studio from what Jun Hyuk told her. Jina squeezed Jun Hyuk’s hand and did not let go.

“Oh right. Hang on.”

Jun Hyuk turned off the recording and left a note in the sound control box that they would be going home first.

When Jun Hyuk and Jina left, the 5 people in the studio were crying so much that their shirts were wet.

They did not even know that the song was over and that the two had left, and were just staring at the recording booth.

“Jina. How much time has passed?”

“5 hours.”

Jina followed after Jun Hyuk’s ability as if she were his biological daughter. There is a precise watch and metronome in her head.

While she does not have his ability to create music, she has her voice. A voice that humans cannot have.

“They should be coming around now, but why aren’t they here yet?”

“They must not be coming back because they like heaven.”

While Jun Hyuk cut fruit and put it in Jina’s mouth to ease their hunger, Amelia snapped out of it at the studio first and tapped Yoon Kwang Hun and Tara on the shoulders.

That is when the other people began to look around.

“Where did they go?”

“I don’t know. When did they leave the recording booth?”

“I don’t know. Did they go outside?”

While everyone was finding it difficult to believe that this is reality, the senior engineer went to check on the recording.

A recording file that goes over 3 hours. The engineer finally saw the time and almost shouted.

“Goodness. 9 hours have gone by.”

“What? 9 hours?”

Alex Zenkin looked at his wristwatch and held his head.

“What about the music? When did the music end? Goodness… This… This is music? How could we dare to call this music?”

No one could get a grasp of reality when they heard another sharp yell.

“Shit! I don’t remember. Damn it. Why!”

Everyone realized when Tara yelled. They do not remember a single verse.

Beautiful, holy, trendy, and elegant… No, it was music that they could not describe with the human language, but they do not remember a single bar.

“How… how could this…”

When everyone was devastated and unable to leave the studio, Amelia found the note that Jun Hyuk left behind, and went home alone.

“Jun! Jina! Where are you guys?”

As soon as she came through the front door, Jun Hyuk put his finger to her lips.

“Sh. Jina just fell asleep.”

Jun Hyuk was holding a bundle of scores in his hand.

“I’m sure you were looking for this, not Jina and me?”

Amelia took the scores and kissed Jun Hyuk. Then, she ran to Jun Hyuk’s home studio.

After that day, the studio became Amelia’s and Jun Hyuk was not allowed inside.

Once Jun Hyuk’s new song was announced, headlines of media outlets all over the world were the same.

HE’S BACK.

Jun Hyuk used to release 3 or 4 albums in a month but since he has reappeared with a song for the first time in 5 years, the media would not be more interested if a war had broken out.

They only knew that there would be a performance in 2 months, and it was not yet decided if the performance would continue after that. In addition, their live show through all broadcasting stations showed Jun Hyuk’s confidence in the music.

After another week, a detailed introduction to Jun Hyuk’s new song came out people could not stop talking.

It used the great word ‘God’. However, people were mistaking the god in the title. It is not regarding the song’s value, but because it is considered to be configured through music of ancient myths or bible content.

Instead, it was more surprising that the configuration is simply a performance reaching over 3 hours with just a piano and one singer. How will this simple configuration carry out 3 hours?

Jun Hyuk’s daughter Jina, who received attention in particular for these 3 hours, is under intense interest for what kind of song she will sing.

New York residents trying to purchase tickets were angry. It was difficult because so many people were trying to purchase tickets, but it was already after hundreds of tickets had disappeared for VIPs.

On top of that, the public was not told who the VIPs are and there was just a warning notice that there will be strict parameters for security and searches upon entry.

Chapter end