Ch.222217 – Scout

“I’ve sometimes wished my parents were just plain evil instead.”

That was the reason Daniel couldn’t cut ties with her parents.

Even if what they sent her was twisted love, paradoxically, they were the only ones who had ever treated Daniel with genuine sincerity.

Her father would scrape together whatever money he could so she wouldn’t feel inferior among friends, sending her allowance.

Though the money was meant for her to buy various clothes, he himself wore the same work clothes every day.

When Daniel was bullied at school, her mother came directly to the teacher’s office, defended her, and ultimately got the bullies transferred.

Despite hating her mother so much, in that moment, she felt like her mother was the only ally she had in the world.

Where exactly did her life go wrong?

‘Was it when I noticed my father might be getting scammed but didn’t warn him clearly enough? Was it failing to get into Yale? Or was falling in love with the violin my mistake? If not any of those, was I just wrong to be born?’

Negative thoughts endlessly chain together.

To escape the suffocating hardship of the present, her consciousness drifts to a brilliant past.

‘Sight-reading genius.’

It was the nickname fans from “Maestro” gave to Yudex for her ability to play any sheet music perfectly at first sight.

Young Daniel loved those small compliments that her mother never gave her.

Shortened to “super genius,” it became a cool nickname. Perfect for an elementary school student’s sensibilities.

At the same time, the current Daniel was in awe of NoName’s skill.

The passionate claim on “Twissy” that she was a once-in-human-history genius might actually be true.

‘Only one year of violin experience? Isn’t she truly a super genius?’

Even if she asked her music major classmates to sight-read Walton’s piece, they wouldn’t achieve over 99% accuracy.

Unlike Daniel whose fingers had stiffened, NoName was even younger.

Even though she was currently winning with 100%, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had essentially lost.

At that moment, Daniel’s score board trembled.

[Score Board]

[#1 Jūdex: Accuracy 99.87%]

[#2 NoName: Accuracy 99.32%]

Little by little, the accuracy was dropping.

‘What’s wrong? I’m playing correctly. Could it be…?’

Daniel had experienced this before.

Suddenly, the violin notes were subtly shifting sideways.

Trying vibrato with her fourth finger confirmed it.

The arcade violin’s string was about to snap.

“NoName, maybe we should pause and restart the game…”

Daniel tried to speak to NoName, but she seemed too focused on playing to hear.

She noticed the small fingers pressing down on the strings with all their might.

‘Wait… why do I need to win? Why am I even in this competition?’

It was pride.

The pride of someone who had dedicated their life to the violin.

A refutation of Professor Pi’s claim that she was inferior to NoName.

If she played gently from now on, the string wouldn’t break, and this competition would end in Daniel’s perfect victory.

But NoName was playing so earnestly, wanting Daniel to apologize to her team members in person, that she didn’t even notice her fingertips were tearing.

[If that’s what needs to be done, I think it should be done.]

In that moment, Daniel’s mind went blank.

NoName was right—she should go apologize in person.

Her deliberation didn’t last long after that.

Daniel swung her bow dramatically.

The fluffy white bow hair created fierce friction against the string.

With a ping, the string flew up into the air, then fell limply to the floor as if its head had been caught.

NoName’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You win, NoName.”

She was truly mature beyond her years.

During the four performances, Daniel had been moved by NoName’s efforts.

Therefore, it was only right that NoName won the bet.

“Are you okay, Daniel? Did you hurt your hand?”

“Huh? I’m fine. Strings break all the time when you play.”

“But don’t we need to pay for this? It’s not even ours.”

“…Oh no! What should we do?”

In the end, NoName paid for it.

Daniel’s pride as an adult was completely shattered.

* * *

“I’m truly sorry for everything…”

Daniel bowed more than 90 degrees.

If she bent any further, her head would touch the floor.

Contrary to Daniel’s worries, the team’s mood was very good.

They were moved by her sincere apology, but her secret weapon had also been very effective.

“Is this really a summary that only includes the final exam material? You worked hard on this, but we can use it?”

“Yes, I compiled all five years of past exams the professor provided, so you should be able to answer most questions with just this.”

“What about when you missed our team meeting before?”

“I was about to email you about that, but the professor said missing up to three meetings wouldn’t affect our grade.”

“Ah, I see.”

“This is amazing! We can get an A+ with just one day of studying! Thank you, Daniel!”

The liberal arts class “Psychology of Human Relationships” was mainly team-based, but grades were determined by the final exam.

The difference in final reports was at most 1 to 2 points.

Just getting one more question right on the final exam would more than make up for that small difference.

Woo Da-yeon, who needed good grades for her graduation semester, apologized along with Daniel, perhaps feeling bad about her harsh reaction before.

Daniel’s apology ended in a warm atmosphere.

Asking for forgiveness wasn’t as grand as she had imagined.

It was actually so easy that Daniel wondered why she hadn’t spoken up until now.

“But NoName, why are you here so early today? Class hasn’t even started yet.”

Woo Da-yeon, standing behind me, put both hands on my shoulders and asked.

The current time was 2:50 PM.

Team meetings only start after the professor’s 45-minute lecture ends.

“I finished early today, so I thought I’d come by. I heard auditing is free.”

Actually, the class was just an excuse.

I had something personal to discuss with Daniel, so I had no choice but to wait until class ended.

“What kind of talk?”

Da-yeon kept probing.

“It’s confidential business information, so I can’t tell just anyone.”

“Hahaha, okay, I won’t ask!”

“I’m serious.”

I wonder if Daniel likes animals? Lions, leopards, or maybe king cobras?

In the classroom filled with long six-person desks, we took seats in the middle of an empty row.

Daniel sat on my left and Woo Da-yeon on my right, both with laptops open, serving as sturdy pillars protecting me from foreign invasion.

By foreign invasion, I mean the whispers of other college students.

“NoName, you’re really popular. You might as well go up front and teach the class.”

“I’ll just sit quietly until I leave.”

“Just enroll at Korea University already. Wouldn’t you get a free pass?”

“I don’t know.”

I genuinely didn’t know because I wasn’t interested in this country’s education system yet.

“What kind of professor teaches this class?”

“He’s really good, no, perfect! Handsome, great voice, fun classes, only one final exam, and he gives good grades!”

“What? There’s no midterm?”

“Nope. That’s why it’s known as an easy elective.”

Aren’t there usually three exams…?

Two midterms and one final.

“Who teaches like that?”

“Professor Cheon. Wait, do you think there are quizzes instead?”

“No, there aren’t any quizzes either.”

“Then how can there be a fair evaluation?”

“Everyone can get good grades together. Does someone have to fail?”

“No… not necessarily.”

I feel like my entire value system is being shaken.

Have I been brainwashed by Professor Cheon all this time?

Soon after, a tall middle-aged professor entered through the front door.

“Everyone seems so energetic even though it’s Monday. Did something good happen?”

As the whispering stopped, piercing gazes began shooting from all directions.

This is uncomfortable. I should have waited outside.

I was just curious about what a university class would be like after experiencing life twice, after such a long time.

These people have no self-control.

I slid my bottom forward on the chair, gradually lowering my line of sight.

If I moved just a little more, my head would be below the desk.

But then I made direct eye contact with the professor.

“Oh!”

“Hahahahaha!”

When the professor let out a short exclamation, the students burst into laughter as if they’d been waiting for it.

What followed was even more ridiculous.

“Isn’t this the legendary Pokémon NoName who only appears at Korea University! It’s a great honor that someone more famous than our current president has chosen to attend our class. In that spirit, I’d like to ask everyone for a big round of applause!”

Please don’t do this.

“Hehehe.”

Daniel was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, finding it all so amusing.

In the end, I hid my face under the desk.

* * *

There was a good reason I had my eye on Daniel as a candidate for Kariri’s Safari Dream’s first generation.

First, with her long experience on Maestro, she was well-versed in anime songs, Vocaloid, and utaite culture.

In other words, she was an otaku.

The application created to popularize classical music ultimately couldn’t escape the fate of rhythm games and became flooded with Japanese songs.

She also got bonus points for being fluent in Japanese and English at a native level.

Second, having unrivaled skill in one field meant her main content was essentially secured.

If news spread that the mysterious amateur who disappeared from Maestro years ago had returned as a VTuber, initial popularity would be guaranteed.

Of course, I would only make the suggestion, and the rest would be for Kariri and Daniel to discuss.

She needed to appeal to Kariri more than to me.

“Daniel, you said you’re happiest when playing the violin. When exactly do you feel that joy?”

She said she wasn’t sure.

Daniel had been living mechanically under her mother’s influence.

She hadn’t had the luxury of time to consider what she liked or what interested her.

“I’d like you to think about it carefully. Do you really want to create the best violin performances, or do you enjoy receiving cheers from audiences? If it’s the latter, being a VTuber might be a good choice.”

The fact that she uploaded videos every day since childhood already shows she has plenty of attention-seeking tendencies.

She seems to have become more introverted after living through difficult times, but people can change when they find some breathing room.

If she’s interested in trying to become a VTuber, I promised to help her overcome her claustrophobia.

“This might be a rude question, but… how much does Kariri make?”

“About 5,000, I guess? I didn’t ask for details.”

“Wow, 50 million won a year? The VTuber market must be reviving. I had no idea…”

“What are you talking about? It’s 5,000 a month.”

“…”

“…”

“Why am I doing classical music?”