usenovelgroup Chapter 2 Kotaro's Good News and Troubles
Chapter 2 Kotaro's Good News and Troubles
The little girl in my memory lived in the leaky old alley at the foot of the orphanage.
The mother runs a fish stall at the Zhagaqi Market and has to go to buy fish before dawn, so she has no time to take care of the children. Therefore, the welfare home became her second home.
She was nine years old at the time, two years older than Jiang Yan.
He was tall and thin, always hunched over, like a reed bent by the wind.
Other children would laugh at her for smelling fishy and try to steal her pickled radishes. She would just bite her lip and back away, tears welling up in her eyes but never falling.
It was the first time Jiang Yan stood up and beat up the big kid who was leading the bullying against her.
From that day on, the little girl became his most loyal follower.
When Jiang Yan went to the back mountain to pick wild fruits, she followed behind with a cloth bag to pick them up. When Jiang Yan helped the old woman chop firewood, she squatted down beside him and neatly stacked the firewood. When Jiang Yan was raiding bird nests, she held his coat and quietly stayed by his side to watch.
The day Jiang Yan was taken away by Lao Jiang, she was helping her mother at the market when she heard the news from somewhere. She abandoned the fish on the stall and ran up the mountain.
He lost one shoe while running, and chased after the car barefoot to the intersection, but still couldn't catch it.
She stood there crying until sunset, saying that no one would ever help her carry the basket of fish again.
Jiang Yan still has that number saved in his phone's contact list.
The note reads: Truth Nuna.
The phone number was given to him by the nanny when he returned to the orphanage after graduating from high school in 2014.
The old woman said this was Choi Jin-ri's private phone number left for the hospital, so he could call and say hello when he went to Seoul.
Two years have passed, and he hasn't dialed it even once.
Every time his finger hovered over the dial button, he didn't know what to say.
He said, "I am Jiang Yan. Do you still remember the little boy who fought for you?"
This sounds like a clumsy attempt to climb the social ladder.
To say, "I saw you on TV, you're great!"?
What meaning does this sentence have after so many years, separated by screens and crowds of people?
The two had long lived in two different worlds: one was a national idol under the spotlight, and the other was a poor student struggling to survive in Seoul. They hadn't been in contact for many years and had long since lost touch.
He didn't ask any more questions, listened quietly to the nun's words, sat for a while longer, and then got up to take his leave.
After returning to Seoul, life remained difficult until today, when the client has driven him to the brink of despair.
Jiang Yan snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the old laptop on the table in front of him.
On the screen was the arrangement draft he had worked on for three consecutive nights, and the chorus had been revised no less than ten times, but it still couldn't pass muster.
He took a deep breath and refocused his gaze on the sheet music in front of him.
The next second, something amazing happened.
The black and white musical notes suddenly came to life, transforming into countless flowing ribbons of color.
The main melody is a bright sky blue, the bass is a calm deep purple, the drumbeats are a vibrant orange-red, and the harmonies are a gentle off-white.
They intertwine to form a flowing rainbow.
In the chorus, there are three places where the light bands are noticeably dim, as if the water has encountered rocks.
The first instance is the bass line, where the dark purple light band feels stiff and abrupt, clashing with the sky blue of the main melody.
The second issue is the syncopated rhythm of the drumbeats; the scattered orange-red dots are chaotic and fail to create the intended impact.
The third issue is the layering of harmonies; the off-white light band is too thin and cannot support the fullness that the chorus should have.
It turns out that it wasn't that he wrote poorly, but that he was so caught up in the grief of losing his father that he couldn't see these subtle flaws.
Jiang Yan's heart skipped a beat.
His fingers trembled as he adjusted the notes little by little, following the prompts he saw.
The previously jumbled thoughts instantly became incredibly clear, and all the problems that had plagued me for several sleepless nights were now laid bare.
twenty minutes.
In just twenty minutes, the revised arrangement file was sent to the client's email address.
Jiang Yan leaned back in the plastic chair in the convenience store and let out a long sigh of relief.
His eyes were a little sore from concentrating for so long. He rubbed them, and the flowing light bands disappeared, and the screen returned to a normal black and white musical score.
I picked up the iced Americano that had already warmed up on the table, took a sip, and had just closed my eyes for a moment when my phone rang.
It's the client's phone number.
He took a deep breath and nervously answered the phone.
"Wow! Teacher Jiang! You're amazing!"
The voice on the other end of the phone was filled with unbelievable excitement, "That's the feeling! I just tested it with the singer, and she jumped up and said it was perfect! I'll transfer the final payment to you right now, and from now on, you'll be the first person I contact for all the arrangement work in our recording studio!"
Less than a minute after hanging up the phone, a bank notification arrived: "[Your account ending in xxxx has received a deposit of 1500000 Korean Won.]"
Jiang Yan stared at the text message for a full ten seconds, stunned.
He looked up at the window, where the torrential rain was still pounding against the sunshade, but to his ears, the sound suddenly transformed into the sound of Busan Harbor waves crashing against the breakwater.
Old Jiang, look, I can support myself now.
This was the first time in his two years in Seoul that he had earned money so easily.
All the jobs he had taken before combined, he could only earn a maximum of 80 yuan a month.
He looked at the pair of eyes reflected in the French windows, eyes that had been given to him after Lao Jiang's death. Although they could only see things within three meters, they could not only see through people's hearts and states of mind, but also help him see the music he loved.
With this ability, I'll never have to worry about money again.
Rent, tuition fees—all the heavy burdens weighing on him seemed to lighten up at that moment.
Just then, the phone rang again.
A familiar number was flashing on the screen, originating from Yangsan City, Busan.
As soon as I answered the phone, a familiar, clear voice came through the receiver, speaking rapidly like a machine gun, filled with barely concealed excitement and a touch of nervousness: "Kang Yeon oppa, I have something to tell you! I was scouted by SM Entertainment at the Yangsan Dance Festival last week! I went to Seoul yesterday for the final audition, and I passed!"
Jiang Yan's fingers tightened unconsciously around his phone, and a genuine smile finally spread across his lips.
"Min Kotaro, you've really made it! You finally passed the audition. Have you signed a contract yet?"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and then you could feel the mood drop significantly, as if something was pressing down on them.
"The company said we can sign the contract next week, but my mother... she's a little worried."
"What are you worried about?"
"She said Seoul is too far away, and she was worried about me being there alone. Also, the company said the dormitory is full and a bed won't be available for another month, so I'll have to rent a place outside for the next month."
Her speech slowed down, carrying a hint of hesitation that Jiang Yan had never heard from her before. "Oppa, do you know that after Mom found out about this, she was silent for a long time on the way back. In the end, she told me that if our Minjeong really wants to go, then go. But I know she must be feeling terrible inside."
Jiang Yan didn't speak, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the coffee can. After a while, he said, "Give the phone to your mother."
"Huh? What are you giving it to Grandma for?"
"Never mind that, give the phone to your mother."
"Oh……"
……