Ch.166Repaying a Favor

I wanted to make a surprise.

But I couldn’t think of anything suitable.

Then.

‘Should I put on a performance?’

That thought suddenly popped up.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea.

And it happened to be the filming day for “Will You Marry Me?”.

I wanted to combine these two things.

“Jaerin, want to go to Daejong High’s graduation ceremony together?”

“Huh?”

“I think it would be nice if we decorated the end of their graduation ceremony.”

Daejong High always wants external exposure.

And “Will You Marry Me?” is investing a lot in us as the final couple.

These two things seemed to fit perfectly together.

‘Killing two birds with one stone.’

After discussing this with the PD.

“Sounds good! It’s perfect, the picture is perfect! And since it’s Daejong High’s graduation, we can get cooperation on the day!”

I received an enthusiastic response.

I immediately thought of the violin.

‘With Amadeus’s talent.’

The talent of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, known as the most outstanding musician.

I was confident that with this, I could play the violin without any problems.

“But how are you planning to surprise everyone?”

“I’ll first draw attention from the back door of the auditorium, and you secretly go toward the stage. Then we’ll meet.”

“Got it.”

After that, everything proceeded smoothly.

Given Daejong High’s graduation ceremony already had many cameras.

A few more cameras added at the last minute wouldn’t seem strange.

I hid among the crowd and slowly moved toward the auditorium where the graduation ceremony was taking place.

And whether by coincidence or fate.

Just as I arrived, the final part of the graduation ceremony was waiting.

A classical performance.

Director Edward Park’s face looking somewhat unsatisfied.

In that perfectly aligned situation, I played the violin.

A melody that seemed to drip blood engulfed the auditorium.

As I slowly walked, the crowd parted.

A scene reminiscent of Moses’s miracle.

I walked toward the stage along the central path created by the students.

I wanted to see the director’s expression.

But the difficulty of the performance was so high that I couldn’t.

If my concentration wavered even a little, it would be over.

I understood why it was called a performance that could only be done through a contract with the devil.

Caprice No. 24.

The thin melody tightened around people’s breath like a rope.

Stepping on that silence, I climbed onto the stage.

A breathtaking 5-minute performance.

As soon as it ended, people who belatedly realized what had happened looked at me.

And in those gazes.

“Director, your unworthy student has arrived.”

I smiled gently at Director Edward Park.

“Mamma mia…! Donghu, Donghoooooooo!!!”

Hug!

Director Edward Park, with reddened eyes, embraced me tightly.

“How! How can there be such a moving moment! Oh… oh, oh…!”

With a face that showed he hadn’t imagined this at all, at that moment.

I signaled for the stage curtain to be raised for the second event I had prepared.

“Wh, wh, what?!”

As the stage curtain lifted, the students’ reactions came to my ears in real-time.

The first thing visible was a grand piano.

And sitting there was.

“Ryu, it’s Ryu Jaerin!”

BloomBell, currently the hottest idol group.

Its center, Ryu Jaerin.

A surprise with no prior coordination.

However, Daejong High, befitting its status as Korea’s finest, quickly completed the setup.

Two microphones prepared in the blink of an eye.

I took the microphone with words of gratitude.

“Hello everyone. I’m Kim Donghu, who became a newlywed this month.”

“Hello. I’m Ryu Jaerin, the new bride.”

The basic greeting that should naturally be given before entering the stage.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“This is crazy, crazy!”

“Legend, legend, another legendary situation!”

“Air raid alert! Air raid alert! God Donghu has appeared at Daejong High!”

But the response was anything but basic.

The heat was so intense that the late winter cold couldn’t be felt at all.

The Daejong High graduation MC naturally stepped back at this point.

Recognizing this, I continued to maintain the atmosphere.

“Everyone, have you seen High Dream?”

“Yeeeeees!!!”

“Lee J! He’s our friend!”

“Domodachi nandaro!”

“He grew up eating hatred!!!”

Even though it was just a light question to spark interest.

The students’ passionate response naturally brought a smile to my face.

“Then before hearing my bride’s song, I’d like to perform first as an initiation. Is that okay?”

“Yeeeeees!”

“Am I really hearing Kim Donghu perform at my graduation ceremony?”

“This is the graduation ceremony of my life.”

As I was about to sit at the piano amid these pleasant reactions.

“Donghu, are you sure this is okay?”

The director, with eyes suggesting I didn’t need to push myself, spoke to me.

“I could do this all day.”

Quoting a certain hero’s line, I placed my hands on the keys.

No matter how long it had been since I last played, my body remembered.

Liszt – La Campanella.

Through Lee J’s hands, a piece of extreme technical difficulty revealed itself.

+++++

“Mamma mia… Mamma mia…”

Edward Park couldn’t help but marvel at the situation unfolding before him.

“Ohhh….”

He never dreamed that the situation he had only imagined would actually unfold before his eyes.

‘To think he could even play the violin….’

Was he Mozart incarnate?

He shuddered at the sight of someone perfectly handling both violin and piano.

The ideal of art.

That’s how Edward Park evaluated Kim Donghu.

‘Perfect in every way without exception.’

Perfect performance skills proportional to his appearance and character.

His serious attitude toward music, and so on.

But if there was just one issue.

“I never thought being so versatile would feel so regrettable.”

Being perfect in every aspect.

Good at sports, good at acting, good at performing.

He was good at everything without exception, so it was impossible to tell him to focus on just one thing.

Still.

‘If he has time later, like a gold medal…’

Might there come a day when he would shock the world at the Chopin International Competition?

With such expectations, Edward Park focused on Kim Donghu’s performance.

La Campanella, sweet to hear anytime.

From the pedaling to the elegant handling of the keys.

And the immersion that made him seem completely one with the piano.

That was a realm attainable only through talent.

Innate gift.

A domain unreachable without a gift.

‘No one can speak.’

In a space mostly filled with students who couldn’t even be called amateurs yet.

Suddenly, a professional among professionals was performing.

He understood the students’ feelings.

Who wouldn’t be amazed seeing that?

Violin and piano.

Paganini and Liszt.

Performances at the pinnacle of technique coming from one person’s hands.

This was a realm that could only be called genius.

♪♩♬

The performance was now heading toward its end.

After 5 minutes that passed in the blink of an eye.

People applauded as if they had been waiting and exclaimed in admiration.

“Amazing! Wow… Director!”

The teachers’ reactions were especially explosive compared to the students’.

One sees and hears more the more one knows.

For the teachers, the greatness of what they witnessed hit them viscerally.

“How did this happen?! Did you know this would happen?!”

“Kim Donghu… wow, Kim Donghu… a 10-minute performance!”

“And Ryu Jaerin will sing two songs after this? What’s going on here, really!!!”

It was a cauldron of excitement.

Edward Park calmed the teachers and spoke leisurely.

“That’s why I told you, one doesn’t necessarily need to learn at school.”

“…Director, you always leave us speechless at times like this.”

“Hahaha, I didn’t know this would happen either. But I must truly be blessed with good disciples.”

As he gave that answer, Edward Park felt tears welling up again.

To think he would make time in his busy schedule to perform so passionately.

‘Donghu, how could you call yourself an unworthy student?’

My most proud disciple, Kim Donghu.

Thank you so much for coming to take care of your teacher like this.

‘Really… thank you so much.’

Edward Park smiled contentedly as he watched Kim Donghu’s back.

+++++

After successfully completing the graduation ceremony.

“Really… thank you so much, Donghu, Jaerin… I’ll never forget this.”

“I’m the one who should be grateful. I couldn’t have graduated without you, Director.”

“Me too, thank you for helping him graduate. We couldn’t have gotten married otherwise.”

After finishing our goodbyes with Director Edward Park.

We boarded the van prepared by the “Will You Marry Me?” team and headed to the broadcasting station with a sense of relief.

“I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.”

“Yeah.”

Jaerin and I discussed every detail of the graduation performance.

“But that last part where you called me ‘him’ was really amazing, I really thought you were going to say ‘husband’.”

I chuckled, recalling Jaerin’s final response.

But.

“Huh? You are my real husband.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Ah, um… what?”

“Well, for now, we are married after all.”

“Ah, right.”

At Jaerin’s response, my brain momentarily froze.

I thought her pupils just now were a bit more intense than I expected.

‘Must be my imagination?’

Anyway, with that, the filming for “Will You Marry Me?” also ended.

The PD was so excited about the great footage that he even cheered.

“Donghu, let’s have a meal together sometime.”

“Sure.”

“Yeah, but I have a schedule today… next time, definitely next time!”

“Of course, what could possibly come between us, right honey?”

Before parting with Jaerin.

I delivered my final line that I had ambitiously prepared.

“Yes, I am your honey.”

Jaerin laughed deeply and then bowed her head and scurried away.

She must really have had an urgent schedule.

‘Then I… since all my schedules are done for today, I can rest.’

As I was thinking that and about to head home.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Messages from Sims arrived.

And they contained:

-[Kim Donghu, challenging special effects films?!]

-[Kamen Rider Ozma 10th Anniversary! Kim Donghu a candidate for the villain to mark its climax?!]

-[Is it true that Kim Donghu will appear as the 10th anniversary devil medal?]

They contained truly unexpected content.