episode_0105

As Yoon Gwan-cheol’s expression twisted at the mention of not being able to become a full-time accompanist due to NewTube, I couldn’t help but feel the tension in the air.

How often does one have the opportunity to speak so boldly to someone of Professor Yoon’s age? Watching the muscles in his weathered face contort, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“That’s… something you should never say in front of your father…”

Before I could protest, Yoon Ji-yoo had already finished speaking with me.

“Why… why is that?”

“That’s… because of that…”

Hesitating to continue, Yoon Ji-yoo cautiously pulled me closer. Her trembling voice echoed in my ears.

“It’s because of Saebyeogi. We had a huge fight because of that. After that, we started arguing more often… and even my piano performances started to deteriorate… It was chaos.”

“…So?”

As if questioning what the problem was, Yoon Ji-yoo stepped back, clearly unsure.

Grabbing my shoulders firmly, she warned me as she spoke.

“I told you before. You remind me of Saebyeogi, and I can’t help but feel attached to you.”

“I… I see.”

“But it’s not just me who feels that way. Our father does too.”

“R-really?”

Yoon Ji-yoo’s words that followed matched exactly what I had been thinking.

“Our father is a real stickler, and he really hates spending time on things that aren’t classical. When he found out that Saebyeogi was editing videos, his computer disappeared from his room.”

So that’s what happened. Tell me more.

“Our father has high expectations for you because you’re Min Chaewon, the daughter of the renowned violinist Yoon Gwan-cheol. He even listened to your performances secretly outside my room. He probably thought, ‘The only person who can duet with our daughter is Min Chaewon.’”

“Why… why me?”

“Because you have the rhythm. You have everything our father is looking for.”

Yoon Ji-yoo explained, unfolding and then folding my fingers one by one.

“Our father has gone to great lengths to find the perfect duet partner for me. He couldn’t even make friends in middle and high school. If he tried to be friendly, everyone would apologize and run away.”

The weight of Min Chaewon’s name, fitting for Yoon Ji-yoo’s reputation as the daughter of the world-renowned violinist Yoon Gwan-cheol.

“And the performance has to be pleasing too, right? I play the way our father taught me because he likes it, so I need someone who can support that performance. And that’s you.”

From captivating people with her performance that reminded them of her mother to flawlessly accompanying Yoon Ji-yoo’s violin as if she had been playing together for years, how could she not look beautiful?

I never dreamed that the experience of accompanying Yoon Ji-yoo in the past would have such an impact.

“And you have no intention of using me.”

“Oh. No, I don’t!”

“Don’t lie. It’s written all over your face.”

Yoon Ji-yoo poked my temple with her well-groomed fingernail.

“To be honest, even our father’s paranoia about someone trying to use him is unfounded… But in his eyes, you’re not like that. You’re as clear as day. You innocent child.”

Yoon Ji-yoo, who had been preparing to strike me from behind without my knowledge, was someone I never knew in my dreams.

“And finally, time. You’re unemployed right now.”

“Oh, no!”

“That’s not because you told me today. Anyone can see that you’re just fooling around. How many people come to a friend’s house on a weekday morning or afternoon?”

Anyway, it seems that I have unknowingly passed Yoon Gwan-cheol’s test completely.

“What should I do? I feel like I’m going to be abandoned…”

“You’ve never been adopted, so what abandonment are you talking about…?”

“Oh.”

I hate being an old-fashioned guy who doesn’t like anything that’s not classical.

Maybe he’s so immersed in classical music that he’s tainted with narrow-minded thinking that deems everything else worthless.

I’ve never had a conversation with him, so I don’t know how to approach him.

“Anyway… if you say you don’t have time to talk…?”

“It’s nerve-wracking… if you say you’re too busy running your YouTube channel…”

Surely thoughts of conflict with Jinsaeyak will come to his mind.

Thanks to playing Hitory Jjong, he might end up causing unexpected headaches for himself.

Maybe he’ll nag at me like he did to his adopted daughter, rather than wasting time on such useless things, suggesting I should indulge in classical music by playing one more piece.

But I am someone who was so deeply immersed in classical music. I was someone who lived by the piano until the moment of death.

Although compared to Yoon Kwancheol’s time spent playing the violin, mine might be short. But if you calculate the time spent in life as a proportion, it might be comparable to his.

The piano is a means of self-realization. It can be a companion in life, but it cannot be the entirety of life or someone’s identity.

Is playing the piano the entirety of life? That’s not being human. It’s an automatic player disguised as a human.

Who comes to mind? Right, I’m poking Jeong Siwoo before I die.

“Jinsaeyak’s time spent editing videos was really minimal….”

The time she spent editing the early videos of Accler was about two to three hours per video.

Since she edited once a week, it hardly affected her usual piano practice.

Yoon Kwancheol thought even that was a deviation, a disruptive behavior that broke the routine.

If she continues like this, she’ll become like Jeong Siwoo. She’ll become a train running aimlessly on the wrong track, not knowing if the railroad is cut off or heading towards a cliff. She’ll become a pitiful adult.

“Um… Unnie.”

“…Yes?”

“How… could you become such a good player under such a father…?”

So, I find Yoon Jiyu amazing.

“I don’t know. Reluctantly admitting, maybe I’m so stubbornly like my father that’s why….”

In such unreasonable pressure, Yoon Jichang should have broken or collapsed like Yoon Jisaebyeok.

But she was too intact. She stood firm and surpassed her father. I was curious about what made her so resilient.

“Until my father realizes his mistakes, I thought I couldn’t collapse like my siblings….”

At that moment, I withdrew all the suspicious glances towards Yoon Jiyu.

She was a woman who played pure evil to awaken her father.

Continuing such behavior, knowing it was wrong, was only to fight with her father. Such behavior would surely stop once the war with her father ended.

If Yoon Kwancheol stopped pressuring his children after realizing something, but she didn’t change.

Then, it would be okay to seek real revenge.

Yes. It’s not about giving up revenge. It’s just about postponing it until after clearly understanding the facts.

“I… I’ll help you.”

“Help…? What? You can’t be serious.”

Surprised Yoon Jiyu shook her head, saying it was impossible.

“Don’t think of such absurd ideas. Even Saeyak clashed with you to have a proper conversation.”

“I’m… not your adopted daughter, though?”

“That’s true… but… sigh.”

Tearing at her hair with both hands, Yoon Jiyu leaned her forehead on the icy table.

After messing up her hair for a while, she suddenly got up and grabbed my cheek.

My cheek is completely melted by the cheese, stretching out.

“As an older sister, there are things I don’t want help with… and things I want to solve with my own hands… Ah, anyway. It’s not that easy. Depending on what you say, Father could be hurt. You could be hurt as much as that! You need to know that!”

I gently held her hand and smiled softly.

“Understood.”

And that’s how it turned out like this.

“Because of that… stupid YouTube… you’re going to miss this opportunity…? It’s really unbelievable. That darn YouTube, YouTube. How great of a channel do you have to run to speak so confidently like that?”

I confidently displayed the number of subscribers on my phone.

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[ Aklerts ] @aklerts | 1.51 million subscribers | 168 videos

Stats

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Mr. Yoon Kwan-chul, upon seeing the numbers, adjusted his glasses and regained his appetite. He seemed to have not expected a channel of this magnitude.

He thought it was just a channel run like child’s play, but he was proven wrong.

I glanced at Yoon Ji-yoo and smiled. Her reaction to seeing the scale of my channel wasn’t much different from before.

Mr. Yoon Kwan-chul cleared his throat several times and finally muttered a tacky line after looking at the thumbnail at the top of the popular video list.

Truly, he was like a father who disliked Yoon Ji-chang’s fangirling to the point of resorting to violence.

“Wearing such vulgar clothes and sitting in front of the piano, are you in your right mind…? And is this some piece of music that no one can understand? Even if you criticize music, there should be a limit…!”

By the way, the video we shot with Jin Sae-byeok has already surpassed ten million views. It’s one of the excellent products that keep our channel alive.

Before getting into a serious fight, I prepared a cheeky remark to break Mr. Yoon Kwan-chul’s mental state.

Daring to insult our channel, I even allowed my past self to give him a proper blow.

“But… there’s no law that says it’s a crime to wear a swimsuit and sit on a piano chair……”

Mr. Yoon Kwan-chul squinted his eyes and furrowed his brow.

With a poker face, I can only laugh excitedly inside.