Devil’s Music

Chapter 261: It's Okay to Go Slowly

Geon had expected a traditional countryside house with tatami mats and a central fireplace, like something out of a Japanese historical drama, but was disappointed to find Shizuka's house was modern. However, thanks to Shizuka's mother, Midori, who had warmed the house with the boiler, Geon felt the warmth as he entered the living room, which had a view of a small garden after passing through a narrow hallway. Unlike Geon, who was familiar with Japanese houses from dramas and anime, Tim was quite unfamiliar and blinked at the sight of the cushions Midori had laid out. When Geon sat on a cushion, Tim awkwardly tried to sit in the same manner but soon grimaced in pain from his hips.

"Ha ha, it looks like the director will need a chair."

Shizuka, who had just thrown her luggage in her room and come running back, quickly fetched a chair from the dining table after hearing Geon's words. Tim expressed his gratitude and sat down, but felt odd being the only one on a chair while everyone else was on cushions, so he sheepishly returned to sitting on a cushion. While Midori went to the kitchen with Shizuka to prepare tea, Ryosuke scrutinized Geon and asked,

"Are you a friend of my daughter?"

Smiling, Geon looked towards the kitchen where Shizuka was busily preparing.

"Yes, sir. A friend."

Ryosuke looked a bit perplexed as he alternated his gaze between Tim and Lynn.

"Sir?"

"Yes, sir."

Ryosuke, with a blank expression, looked at the three of them when Byung-jun, who seemed to have been smoking, came in late, rubbing his arms from the cold, and asked,

"Wow, it's cold. Why is it so cold in this neighborhood? Is this gentleman Shizuka's father?"

Geon nodded, offering a cushion.

"Yes, brother."

As Byung-jun knelt on the cushion and looked at Ryosuke, he said,

"Geon, translate for me. You're good at Japanese."

"Go ahead, brother."

Sensing Byung-jun had something to say, Ryosuke intently looked at him. Byung-jun then lowered his head and said,

"Hello, sir. I'm Lee Byung-jun, a manager at Fantagio. I work at Fantagio, and I'll be working on entertainment activities with Shizuka. Treat me like your own son; please don't worry too much."

Ryosuke, after hearing Geon's translation of Byung-jun's slightly rude but polite greeting, nodded and smiled faintly.

"In Japan, it's unusual to call a friend's father 'sir.' It seems it's common to do so where you're from."

Realizing the misunderstanding, Geon looked at Byung-jun amusingly and then chuckled upon realizing he also had called Ryosuke 'sir.'

"Ahaha, I see there was a misunderstanding. In Korea, it's customary to address a friend's parents with that honorific."

"Ha ha, I see. Please tell him I'm actually the one who should be asking for his favor."

Geon relayed the message, and Byung-jun, gesturing no, bowed deeply again.

"No, sir! It's me who should be asking for your favor!"

Lynn, sitting on a cushion with Kiska on her lap, laughed and said,

"To an outsider, it might look like a son-in-law has come to meet his daughter. Ho ho."

Geon burst into laughter, and Byung-jun made an awkward face, while Tim, unable to understand the conversation, looked dissatisfied and said,

"Can we speak in Korean after Japanese? Isn't there anyone who can interpret for me in English?"

After Geon briefly explained the situation, Tim, showing little interest, tasted the warm tea Midori had brought and then asked Shizuka,

"What about our staff?"

Shizuka raised her hand and said,

"Oh, they're resting in the room."

Tim glanced around and then put down his teacup,

"Uhmm. It feels awkward for me to join the conversation here, so I guess it's better if I rest with the staff. Could you show me the way?"

"Yes, director. This way, please."

As Tim followed Shizuka to the room, Midori sat next to Geon where Tim had been sitting and grabbed his hand. Geon, puzzled by Midori's affectionate gaze, tilted his head, and Midori, rubbing his hand, said,

"Our daughter introducing someone as a friend, it's the second time."

Geon, a bit surprised, asked,

"What? Shizuka didn't have friends?"

Midori nodded and smiled, while Lynn asked in fluent Japanese,

"Who was the first friend?"

After looking down the narrow hallway where Shizuka had disappeared, Midori said,

"It

was the piano. She had trouble making friends when she was younger."

Looking out at the snow-covered window, Geon asked,

"Why? Were there no children of her age in the village?"

Midori teared up slightly and said,

"That's not it, when I was younger, I had an illness.."

"Hey! Honey!"

Ryosuke raised his voice, causing Midori to jump up startled.

"Oh, my, sorry, I only brought tea, I'll get some snacks."

Midori hurried back to the kitchen, while Lynn and Geon exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders. After clearing his throat a few times, Ryosuke's face softened as he said,

"So, you'll be staying for two days? Make yourself at home."

Lynn bowed slightly and said,

"Thank you. It's a short schedule, and we'll be busy filming, so we'll probably only come back late to sleep. Please don't go out of your way for us."

"Not at all. You're looking after our Shizuka, so how could we not offer our hospitality? If there's anything you need, just let us know. We'll do our best to assist."

"Ho ho, thank you. It seems our little one is a bit sleepy; may we go to the room?"

Ryosuke, seeing Kiska yawning in Lynn's arms, got up with a smile briefly crossing his face at the sight of the angelic-looking child.

"Ha ha, such an angelic child. Come, I'll show you to the room."

As soon as Rin disappeared with Kiska and Ryosuke, only Geon and Byungjun were left in the living room. Since they were sharing a room anyway, they decided to head to their room later and spent time admiring the view outside from the living room. Soon, Midori approached with a tray of traditional Japanese sweets and handed it over to Geon, who thanked her politely.

"Thank you, mother."

Midori, seemingly pleased with everything about Geon, smiled continuously as she sat next to him and watched him eat the sweets.

"My, how handsome you are!"

"Ha, mother, you'll bore a hole through my face looking like that."

"Even with a few scars, you'd still look much better than ordinary folks."

"Is that so? Ha, thank you, mother."

"I do love hearing that 'mother' from you."

"Feel free to ask me to say it as much as you like, ha."

Byungjun, who couldn't speak Japanese, tried to join the conversation by poking Geon's side but eventually left to smoke a cigarette, defeated by the language barrier. As Byungjun left through the front door and Shizuka returned to the living room, sitting down on the floor cushion left only with Geon and Midori, Midori took Geon's hand.

"It's so nice to meet a friend of Shizuka. Please take good care of our daughter."

Geon smiled warmly, holding Midori's hand, which made Shizuka blush slightly and speak up quietly.

"Mom, please stop."

"What do you mean stop? I'm just asking him to take good care of you."

"Mom! You're making it awkward."

"It's fine. She's a friend's mom, so it's okay. Don't worry about it, Shizuka."

"But still..."

"Don't worry about it, really."

Shizuka blushed, looking away slightly, and Midori suddenly stood up as if she remembered something urgent.

"Oh dear, look at my mind. I left the fruits I bought for the guests outside. What if they've frozen? Oh my!"

As she ran towards the front door, Geon watched her with a smile before turning to Shizuka, who was still watching him carefully.

"Your parents are really nice."

"Yes, they are good people," Shizuka agreed with a blush, nodding slightly.

As Geon picked up a sweet to eat, he asked, "Earlier, your mom mentioned something about an illness?"

Shizuka seemed startled for a moment before sighing deeply. She looked towards the front door Midori had exited through, then dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Actually, my mom was sick with a spiritual illness before she met my dad."

"Spiritual illness? Like the ones shamans suffer from?"

"Yes. Fortunately, she overcame it and then met my dad and got married. There hasn't been an incident since, but because we've lived in this village all our lives, everyone knows her as the woman who refused to become a shaman."

"Is that what overcoming it means?"

"It seems so. You think the same as the villagers. Because of that, nobody would play with me, calling me the shaman's daughter. I had a friend once, but suddenly they stopped playing with me. When I asked, they said their parents warned them that playing with me would bring trouble."

Geon looked at Shizuka, surprised.

"Did that happen? So that's why you had no friends?"

"Not exactly. When I was attending middle school in Tokyo at my aunt's place, nobody knew about it. I preferred being alone. I liked the piano that would just listen to me without saying a word more than anything. There were people who approached me, but I chose to keep my distance."

"That's a bit strange. When I first saw you at the Juilliard practice room, you didn't seem like someone with social phobia."

Shizuka glanced at Geon with her head down, doodling something on the floor with her finger.

"That, that's because, uh, Anna and Anthony are so, so easygoing..."

After thinking for a moment, Geon nodded.

"Yeah, both of them do have good personalities. Especially Anthony, he's quite thoughtful."

"Yes, yes! Exactly!"

"I see. You must have had a hard time. But it's okay now. I'm here, and so are Anna and Anthony, and dependable Byungjun too."

Shizuka saw Geon thumping his chest reassuringly and swallowed the words she had in her heart with a bright smile.

'It's because you were there, Kay. I was a fan of yours.'

The living room was filled with a warm atmosphere.

Despite the cold world outside, the house was filled with warmth, as warm as the temperature inside.

On a snow-covered hill overlooking Shizuka's house, two figures stood. The blond young man, not seeming to feel the cold in his

black suit and dress shirt, spoke without moving.

"Doesn't that girl, Shizuka, look familiar to you, Lord Gamagin?"

Gamagin, with his long black hair and black leather gloves, brushed his hair back as he looked into the window at Geon and Shizuka.

"Perhaps... she resembles Nanael."

Paimon narrowed his eyes, looking closely at Shizuka and stroking his chin.

"Hmm... A child resembling Nanael... Now that you mention it, she does seem familiar."

>

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