Chapter 86: Investigation

It took a considerable amount of time for So-yul to regain her composure.

So-yul, nestled in my arms, held me tightly as if afraid to let go.

With her entire body trembling. With her breath mixed with sobs. Occasionally rubbing her face against my chest.

Throughout this time, I continuously stroked her back.

Though it was a simple gesture, I hoped it would provide So-yul with at least some comfort.

‘I want to share love normally, like regular people.’

So-yul had revealed her long-hidden true feelings.

Sometimes pretending not to know, occasionally hiding while knowing, she must have been carrying this burden alone all along. The emotions that had accumulated over time were certainly not light.

“…Your face looks scary.”

And this was the first thing So-yul said after pulling away from me.

Seriously, she has no filter with her boyfriend who just comforted her while she was crying.

“Sorry for having a scary face.”

“N-no. That’s not what I meant… In my eyes, you’re actually the most handsome boy in our school.”

“…O-oh, really. Thanks.”

“But right now you look scary.”

First one thing, then another. What exactly did she want me to do?

It was probably a joke to lighten the heavy atmosphere. Even if it wasn’t, there wasn’t much I could do about looking scary. There was no reason to take it too seriously.

As I was about to dismiss it as a joke, So-yul trudged toward me. Then she suddenly rose on her tiptoes, stretched out her arms, and gently caressed my cheek.

So-yul parted her pinkish lips slightly and asked:

“You’re not planning to do something dangerous, are you?”

“…”

My girlfriend truly had sharp instincts.

As I stood there unable to come up with an excuse, opening and closing my mouth, So-yul continued with a bitter smile:

“I’ll be fine, so please don’t do anything dangerous. If you get into trouble trying to help me, we might never be able to see each other again. …I hate that far more than being scolded by my mother. I want to stay with you from now on.”

So-yul, who stroked my cheek while speaking softly, wore an incredibly sincere expression.

Only after her warm touch did I realize how rigid my face had become.

I must have unconsciously put on a “scary face” due to my anger and desire for revenge at the current situation.

But for her to even read that I was secretly planning something dangerous—I should probably give up any thought of lying in front of So-yul.

So-yul’s observation was absolutely correct.

In my heart, I wanted to overturn everything right this moment.

I wanted to hurl curses at So-yul’s mother. Completely ignore every school rule. Vent all my boiling anger without caring about the consequences.

But after such an outburst, only ashes would remain.

We would fail to achieve not only So-yul’s wish to be recognized by her mother, but even our goal of being together. In the end, we would lose everything and face separation.

Neither So-yul nor I wanted such a future.

I had to restrain myself from acting out in momentary rage.

I gently removed So-yul’s hand from my cheek.

After giving a light smile to So-yul, who tilted her head in confusion, I patted her head lightly.

“It’s okay. I’ll be careful not to let anything like that happen.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I don’t want to break up with such a kind, cute, and lovable girlfriend either. Don’t worry.”

“…What are you suddenly saying? Dummy.”

When I answered with a bit of flattery mixed in, So-yul’s cheeks turned red as she grumbled.

I had just returned the same kind of comment she had given me earlier, yet I was called a dummy. That was rather unfair.

While I understood So-yul’s concerns, I couldn’t just sit quietly and do nothing.

We wouldn’t be able to endure these difficult circumstances for more than a year until graduation.

Whether So-yul eventually collapsed or the school caught evidence of our relationship, the time limit was much closer than that.

In that case, there was only one option.

I had to find a way to resolve the problem So-yul was carrying.

She wanted her mother’s recognition.

This was the root of all the issues. It was why So-yul had enrolled in this school, why she endured her mother’s torment so resolutely.

Conversely, if this one thing could be resolved, all the tangled threads would unravel.

Until now, I’d thought that if I just supported So-yul, her wish would eventually come true.

Since So-yul always delivered excellent performances, I believed her mother would eventually acknowledge her.

But now I had to find a way to make So-yul’s mother recognize her daughter.

There was no other option anyway. I decided to set aside questions about whether it would be possible.

So first…

“Han So-yul.”

“Yes?”

So-yul, who had been enjoying the sensation of her head being patted with her eyes tightly closed, slowly looked up at me.

Looking directly into her eyes, which still held a hint of moisture, I asked a brief question:

“…Do you remember your biological father’s name?”

◎

Afterward, So-yul and I shared the homemade chocolate cake she had given as a birthday present and parted ways.

The cake, filled with So-yul’s sincerity, was incredibly sweet and delicious. I actually finished the entire cake in one sitting.

Of course, most of it went into So-yul’s mouth.

When I asked if she would be okay after being scolded by her mother, So-yul showed a bitter smile and said, “It’s fine. Not like it’s the first time.”

It was too painful a joke to be taken lightly.

Still, I was infinitely grateful to So-yul for not forgetting to say, “Happy birthday, boyfriend.”

The first thing I did after leaving the piano room was to take out my laptop from my bag.

There was something I needed to find as quickly as possible.

“My biological father’s… name?”

When So-yul heard my question, she asked back with a surprised look.

Setting aside the unusual timing, asking about her biological father’s name was surprising in itself. Even as her boyfriend, it seemed like I was insensitively touching on a painful subject.

But I had no other choice.

The key to solving So-yul’s problem likely lay here.

I recalled the conversation from the piano room this morning.

‘I told you to play the piano with restraint, without unnecessary body movements, but you stubbornly ignore me and move however you please.’

‘…Really, you just had to take after him in all the wrong ways.’

These were the words So-yul’s mother had spat out while scolding her.

People reveal their true feelings when emotions run high. Indeed, this statement had slipped out unconsciously amid her anger. I decided it was definitely not something to overlook.

Upon reflection, it was rather significant.

Exactly who was So-yul supposedly taking after?

It would be awkward to say she resembled her stepfather, with whom she shared no blood. Her mother could reproach her for resembling herself, but since they played different instruments, that didn’t quite fit either.

Then perhaps So-yul’s mother… couldn’t stand seeing So-yul increasingly resemble her ex-husband.

Therefore, to gain recognition from So-yul’s mother, I first needed to learn about So-yul’s biological father.

“As far as I know… his name was Yu Hyun-min.”

Fortunately, So-yul knew her biological father’s name.

Last time, she said she had even forgotten what he looked like, so she wasn’t remembering it herself. I guessed she had probably picked it up indirectly.

This was the crucial part.

So-yul had once mentioned that her biological father was an unknown pianist. Since she knew his name, she must have looked him up at some point, yet she didn’t even know what he looked like. I anticipated it wouldn’t be easy to find information.

And indeed, it was not simple at all.

Despite searching with terms like piano, pianist, and musician, no proper results emerged. I even tried searching in English, but to no avail.

“Haah…”

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

If it were something easily solved, it would have been resolved long ago. Naturally, this problem that had troubled So-yul for so long would be difficult to solve.

Perhaps it was better to try a different approach at this point.

Looking back, there was something I had found somewhat suspicious for a while.

It was that So-yul’s mother seemed unusually young.

So-yul and her mother had a 21-year age gap. This was a fact I had learned from the article about So-yul’s parents that I first read.

In other words, So-yul’s mother had conceived her around the time she had just turned twenty.

I didn’t know the circumstances, but considering that it remained in So-yul’s vague memory as a “happy home”… it seemed reasonable to assume they had loved each other when they had So-yul.

If that were the case, the time when So-yul’s mother and biological father met must have been much earlier. That meant they had been dating since So-yul’s mother was still a student.

There weren’t many opportunities for a student to meet men.

Either they graduated from the same school, or they met through some special opportunity. Whichever was correct, the keywords to search for were clear.

I searched for So-yul’s mother’s and biological father’s names together.

And the page displayed at the very top was none other than…

‘2003 Korean Student Concours Competition Participant List and Overall Evaluation’

“H-huh?”

I drew in a deep breath, startled by the unexpected result.

I hadn’t actually expected to find anything, but with just a slight change in direction, I had hit the mark. It might have been a miracle sent from heaven, I thought.

There was no need to hesitate. I immediately accessed the page.

After a slow loading process, an old website appeared.

Required pieces by category, participant lists, evaluations—numerous pieces of information were organized alongside various photographs.

It was a stroke of luck that the data hadn’t been lost despite the competition being so old.

As I scrolled down absentmindedly, at some point I was startled.

Under the title ‘Violin Division – Grand Prize Winner’… a face resembling So-yul appeared.

There was no need to analyze it deeply. This was clearly a photo of So-yul’s mother from her student days.

While she resembled So-yul in appearance, she was somehow taller with visible curves to her figure.

How should I put it? It gave me a considerable sense of discomfort.

…This wasn’t the time for such observations.

I had placed hasty hopes, but the participant list contained only names.

Even if So-yul’s biological father’s name was written here, what information would I gain? I couldn’t even rule out the possibility of someone with the same name.

Feeling disappointment and complexity, I searched for the name of So-yul’s biological father.

Of course, I expected to find nothing more than his name on the participant list. I had long since abandoned any unnecessary hopes.

But surprisingly, where his name was written was…

Right at the end of the ‘Piano Division Overall Evaluation.’

‘This concludes the evaluation for all award winners. However, there is a special assessment I wish to record here.

Yu Hyun-min showed a performance that captivated the entire panel of judges. His playing, as if possessed by another’s soul, or as if acting out a role, was deeply impressive.

However, in stark contrast to his excellent expressiveness, the performance itself was very clumsy. In the latter half, frequent mistakes made it difficult to listen to. Simply put, it was disappointing as if he had not received proper professional piano education.’

My eyes widened as I read the evaluation.

It was a description very similar to So-yul’s current playing style. Even just reading it, the message came across clearly.

But to say his skills were insufficient for an award—had he lacked practice?

No, So-yul’s biological father wasn’t financially well-off. Perhaps, as the evaluation suggested, it was the result of ‘not having received professional education.’

Come to think of it, hadn’t So-yul’s mother mentioned something today?

‘I told you to play the piano with restraint, without unnecessary body movements, but you stubbornly ignore me and move however you please.’

At the time, I found it strange that she would disparage So-yul’s unique playing style as ‘unnecessary body movements.’

It was an element that could only be an advantage, never a disadvantage. I wondered why she hated it so much.

Now I understood.

So-yul’s mother might be seeing fragments of her ex-husband in her daughter’s performance.

In the way she played as if possessed, as if acting—perhaps memories of her ex-husband kept resurfacing.

This might also explain why she remained expressionless when So-yul gave a perfect performance at the arts festival, and why she openly mocked So-yul when she made mistakes at the concours.

But if that were the case.

For So-yul to gain her mother’s recognition…