Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
45. It doesn’t rain during Chushu (6)
Kwon Jane’s sole remaining blood and flesh, her niece Kwon Lena.
Even when putting aside that she carried the same blood as Kwon Jane, Kwon Lena was a kind child and an outstanding disciple.
After the Eternal Lake’s team members argued for the drinks made personally by Kwon Lena, she made a drink for each Person on the team.
Moreover, during the health inspection and Kwon Jane’s improvised recital to cover taking off the curse of Oath of Silence, even while seeing the team doctor’s terrible acting that couldn’t be hidden even without any lines, rather than question it, she was first more worried about them.
Every time Kwon Jane thought that such a kind child went through hardships because of her mistakes and carelessness, her heart was ripped into a thousand pieces.
‘I was very worried when I heard the story of the Eungwang Brilliant Light Orphanage.’
Some time ago, Kwon Lena suddenly canceled all lesson plans.
As result of investigation, Kwon Jane learned that when going to do voluntary activities at the Eungwang Brilliant Light Children’s Home, they were attacked by a certain service company.
In such circumstances, Kwon Lena could choose to flee and leave Min Geurin behind, but she stayed for her friend and held back another friend and afterwards even wrote a letter of apology.
It was admirable that Kwon Lena protected her friend, but as family, she couldn’t help but worry.
Even the team members with overprotective tendencies like Jared Lee made a plan ‘Lena’s music abroad studying plan’, saying it may be better.
Kwon Jane also imagined a peaceful and safe abroad life with Kwon Lena, but she decided to put that thought on hold.
‘Lena is watching her class’ children.’
Kwon Lena, who was performing on stage for the first time, was terribly nervous.
But seeing the class children, she took a deep breath and gradually regained her composure.
Kwon Lena, who found back her usual peace, looked at Kwon Jane and nodded slightly.
‘… Let’s pay more attention to Lena’s safety in the future. I should think about studying abroad as last resort.’
This time, thanks to Hwang Myeong Group snatching the lead, Kwon Jane could do nothing but give some words.
Promising to herself to find and deal with things tormenting Kwon Lena faster next time, Kwon Jane held up her superpower bow.
* * *
After Kwon Jane held up a bow and touched the strings, the hall’s atmosphere changed.
The superpower violin, which resonated with the user’s superpower wave and changed its sound based on it, let out a clear tune in the hall.
When Kwon Jane played the first verse, I sensed signs of held breath all around.
Though the performance itself was pretty, there were many people surprised because it was a new piece.
‘This piece is the same improvised piece Kwon Jane performed while activating her Gwangrim on the beach during the Youth Training Camp incident, you know?!’
Even though the video published by Mun Saeron reached the all top record rankings of views of the streaming service, there were complaints that this legendary piece’s source music wasn’t released.
Though numerous Kwon Jane’s fans and musicians released their cover versions, to a great regret of the fans, they couldn’t reproduce the feeling of the original song.
There were bitter, though plausible speculations that as Kwon Jane Herself couldn’t reproduce the feeling of facing that enormous wave, it was impossible to make a sound source through the studio recording.
But at this moment, Kwon Jane’s performance carried the exact things she felt that day.
‘That day Kwon Jane felt like this, huh?’
The firm will to not falter even when facing the sea wall, faint fear felt when looking at the wave filled with madness, confusion and doubt felt at the abruptness of it, seemed to fill up my heart.
Following Kwon Jane’s mental state, her performance gradually turned anxious.
A discreet chord blend into that anxious performance.
It was the start of Kwon Lena’s performance.
‘It’s like talking through the violins.’
Kwon Lena’s performance was doing her best to convey the message of trust, admiration and support.
In terms of technique, it wouldn’t be able to match Kwon Jane at all, but Kwon Lena’s performance didn’t feel even a bit disturbing.
Rather, though Kwon Lena was unskilled, her friendly melody led to stabilization of Kwon Jane’s performance and gained depth.
When the two people’s ensemble flowed into the tune of the tight confrontation with the sea wall.
‘Uh?’
A screen appeared behind the stage.
On the projection screen made from water, the video Mun Saeron took that day was vividly displayed.
At that moment.
Paaa…!
Kwon Jane’s Gwangrim ‘Humming Surface’ activated and the water surface started to sing.
As if dancing on the water screen, the water droplets jumped out and reflected light, creating a dream-like atmosphere.
When the audience held back their cheers and admired the performance and the water droplets dance, the performance was about to reach its peak.
A different superpower wave mixed with Kwon Jane’s superpower wave.
‘… This!’
In the instant the scenery before my eyes changed.
We, who were sitting in the hall, at some point found ourselves on Seongmo Island.
We confronted the enormous sea wall and the Enemies flooding between it.
After blinking.
The illusion[1] created by the superpower wave, which captured the audience in the instant and the performance of the two ended.
‘Considering the superpower wave I felt a moment ago, and the Gwangrim possessed by the owner of that superpower wave, who it was is certain…’
Kwon Jane wore a blue dress and platinum hair cuffs.
Opposite of her, Kwon Lena was in a platinum dress and had her hair tied with a ribbon decorated with royal blue sapphires.
The two finished the performance and looked at each other with surprised faces as if they also didn’t expect that illusion.
Because that illusion created a moment ago was Kwon Lena’s Gwangrim ‘Illusion Banquet[2]’.
I drew the conclusion that the cause of this illusion was Kwon Lena’s Gwangrim, but something bothered me.
‘Kwon Lena’s Gwangrim wasn’t this powerful!’
Worthy of the game wreck PMH, characters’ power balance was a mess.
And ‘Lee Lena’, who was a Playable Character, belonged to pretty weak ones.
Because the basic stats were low, the skills were ambiguous and Gwangrim had no use.
Her Gwangrim ‘Illusion Banquet’ was an ability to draw a designated target into an illusion for an extremely short period of time, but it had almost no use.
The problem was its short period, but the power to realize the illusion was weak and one could realize it was an illusion in a short moment, so if the opponent released their superpower wave, the illusion would break down immediately.
So at best it could be used to confuse low rarity Enemies.
‘No way… Is Lena’s Gwangrim also the same type as Kwon Jane’s?’
Without performance, Kwon Jane’s Gwangrim had almost no meaning.
Because if she didn’t perform, the response to the superpower wave at most would cause a water surface to ripple, and the attack power would be zero.
‘… The in-game’s ‘Lee Lena’ couldn’t learn violin, so she couldn’t display her full abilities, huh?’
Even after the performance and illusion ended, the hall was quiet.
It seemed that the audience’s minds were still occupied by the performance and illusion.
I decided to solve this situation for my flustered Playable Character.
Clap clap clap!
I broke the silence by giving a standing ovation.
Starting with our class children, who seemed to regain their senses at the sound of clapping, the standing ovations spread out.
“Amazing, eh? The illusion created by that child captured even me and Yong Jegeon, though it was a very short moment.”
Even Hwang Jiho said that with his eyes sparkling!
As expected, my Playable Character, with her blooming hidden ability, was outstanding.
We, who gave an ovation without being stingy, sat down to listen to the next performance.
After that Kwon Jane continued mainly sole, but the two performed ‘for LENA’ for encore together.
Kwon Lena’s ‘Illusion Banquet’ didn’t activate again, but for everyone at the two violinists’ performance the time spent there seemed like a fantasy.
* * *
On the road home after we spent the last day at Ju-Oh Island staying up all night and playing.
I wanted to immediately return to the dormitory to rest because of the fatigue which piled up when playing, but contradictory to it, I was also somewhat regretful.
As if other children felt the same as me, they lied down on the sunbeds on the deck of Son of Heaven not to rest but talk.
It seemed they didn’t have energy to wander, but wanted to keep talking because of their regretful hearts.
Enduring, the center of our class’ conversation was Kwon Lena.
“Lena’s performance yesterday was amazing…”
“If senior-nim releases the music source, I want a signed CD!”
“I hope there also will be Lena’s signature.”
On the other hand, Kwon Lena mentioned the student of our class, who received the most attention yesterday after Kwon Lena.
“… Is Uram still unconscious?”
“Yep… after fainting while standing, he didn’t wake up even once.”
It seemed that after the first performance ended, Mok Uram’s health points already reached 0 because of the emotional hit.
But Mok Uram persevered.
Because he expected Kwon Lena standing on the stage to perform again.
According to his predictions, there was a duo performance of ‘for LENA’ as an encore, and after the song ended, Mok Uram gave a standing ovation and then fainted.
He had a look as if he was ‘suffocated’ by a current of rising inspiration.
“The illusion Lena showed was beautiful enough to faint. I understand.”
Han Yi commented like this on Mok Uram’s fainting.
As someone who couldn’t enjoy the performance with her sense of hearing, Han Yi was deeply amazed by the water screen creating the stage and the illusion shown by Kwon Lena.
Han Yi actively asked about our impressions of the performance of the two and enjoyed the performance through us.
Han Yi even asked freaking Hwang Jiho for his impression, and Hwang Jiho replied:
— It was a performance beautiful enough that I wanted to listen to it with an old close friend.
For Hwang Jiho, who was arrogant, had intricate taste and cherished his old friends, it was the highest grade praise, but it wouldn’t feel like that to the listener.
It seemed that Han Yi regretted asking Hwang Jiho, with the feeling of ‘I don’t know what I expected from that old child.
Hwang Jiho, who seemed to clearly read Han Yi’s thoughts, just laughed.
As he seemed to be in a pretty good mood, even on the way back, Hwang Jiho behaved frivolously.
“It’s regretful there is no Son of Heaven on this ship, eh?”
“Yes? Isn’t this Cruiser’s official name Son of Heaven?” [3]
“Hahahaha!
Why was that geezer like this?
Son of Heaven was what the son of Heavenly God, Sinin Gong Cheonghwon was called.
As Gong Cheonghwon wasn’t on this ship, this expression was correct, but did he have to speak like this in front of the class children?
Han Yi also looked at Hwang Jiho with a face full of the feeling ‘why is he like this’.
If[4] Han Yi returns as Cheong-ho later, even if she makes a sound about beating him up with Taehokwon, Hwang Jiho will have a satisfied face.
* * *
The feelings of Kim Yuri, who was drawing closer to home, became a bit tearful.
After being discharged from the hospital, as she spent enjoyable time with class children, she didn’t think about her home situation.
If Kim Yuri returned home now, she would be alone.
‘Mom… Dad…’
Her father was hospitalized, and her mother was nursing him.
Besides, she couldn’t beg the two People to come back as their hearts were hurt with her Gwangrim’s case.
She even felt sorry for calling the kind class children.
‘Should I go to a cafe? Or go to see teacher-nim? Or invite the People Jiho attached to me for surveillance?’
Kim Yuri’s worries deepened.
When she couldn’t make up her mind and opened the front door.
‘… the lights in the living room are on?’
It wasn’t only the lights that were on.
From the kitchen she smelled the scent of her mother’s favorite chamomile tea.
“Mom! Dad!”
Kim Yuri hurriedly took off her shoes at the entrance, threw her bag and ran into the living room.
It appeared that if her mother saw this scene, she would nag, but Kim Yuri wasn’t even a bit worried about it.
She even thought how good it would be to hear that comforting nagging.
“Yuri, you’re back?”
Even though he became very emaciated, Kim Yuri’s father smiled brightly from the sofa.
While returning the smile, Kim Yuri approached her father.
* * *
After arriving in the Incheon Port, the dormitory students rode the Hwang Myeong Foundation’s air shuttle that was waiting in the port and headed back.
The number of 1st year class 0’s students heading to the dormitory was small.
Because Mok Uram was carried to the infirmary, Sawol Seeum was going back to his family home and Maeng Hyodon was picked up by Tak Geosan to go train, the only ones remaining were me, Han Yi and Kwon Lena.
“Then see you next time!”
“We’ll go first.”
The 1st year dormitory building.
I said goodbyes to Han Yi and Kwon Lena who left the elevator first.
Thanks to the class 1 and class 2’s students riding other elevators, as the two people left, I was left in the elevator alone.
As I was left alone after a long time, I started to have useless thoughts.
To change my thoughts, I started to think about something that I observed a while ago, and it bothered me.
‘It seems that Kwon Lena is only using the superpower violin now, but then why does she keep carrying the violin case?’
As a superpower violin and bow could be cardified, there was no need for a violin case.
Ding.
Before I could finish that short thought, I arrived at the floor I got off on.
“Uisin-ah, hi.”
The moment the door opened, someone spoke as if waiting for me.
“Can we talk?”
The other party was the Game category Yong, Yong Jegeon.
*~*~*
[1] illusion — it’s the same word as used in the name of ‘Fantasy’ auction. A futile dream or something that can’t exist in reality.
[2] Illusion Banquet — first, ‘illusion’ here isn’t the same word as the word used before, the futile dream/fantasy. This word refers to something which doesn’t exist even though it appears as if it does. The homonyms of it are ‘useless/fruitless thought’ and ‘offering something to a person of high status’. Banquet can also mean ‘to darken because it was covered’.
[3] “Yes? Isn’t this Cruiser’s official name Son of Heaven?” — Sawol Seeum’s sentence.
[4] If — it could also be when.
Translator’s note: Yes, Jo Uisin. It’s not like Son of Heaven is an Emperor title that numerous divine and mortal beings were referred to as. I’m sure we can be normal about it (gods, let me be normal about at least one random sentence from Hwang-ho).
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