Devil’s Music - Chapter 8

Editor: Issey

Time flew like an arrow.

Tae-woo and his wife, who had moved to U2-dong, Haeundae-gu, wanted

Geon who was now in fifth grade, to study in a slightly better environment.

Elementary school didn’t have a ranking system yet, but his grades were the highest in the school. They believed that if their son gets a chance to study in Seoul, he would be able to live a better life by going to a good university, rather than studying in Busan.

Geon’s sister Si-hwa was not good at studies, but she was tough. Geon used to study for only an hour or two,  but still managed to be at the top of his class, unlike Si-hwa. As Geon grew up, Gamagin’s blessing gradually grew and he became good-looking, yet he still studied hard. Si-hwa kept working hard, saying that she didn’t want to lose to him even in studying.

Si-hwa, who was studying at her desk, saw him reading a book next to her.

He was her brother, but he was as handsome as a prince in a fairy tale.

No, he was a little different from princes in fairy tales.

The prince in fairy tales always had blond hair, rode white horses, had sky-blue eyes, but her brother had dark, shiny black hair and a sharp nose. His thick eyebrows and long eyelashes made it seem as if he had makeup on. Lips cherry red, looking as if they were about to bleed. Geon’s eyes were focused on the book. His eyes were beautiful, but in general, they looked cold, resembling a haughty aristocrat rather than a prince in a fairy tale.

Si-hwa’s classmates used to giggle and blush whenever Geon came to her class.

While resting her face on her desk, Si-hwa looked at Geon, with her head turned,  saying “Oppa, Oppa. You always read novels, and you are good at studying too. Can’t you teach me?”

He answered her without taking his eyes off the book.

“Hey, you are the one studying. Why do you keep asking for help? There’s no special method of studying. You just have to see, understand, and memorize what’s necessary. What’s so hard about it?”

Si-hwa raised her eyebrow on his insincere answer.

“Hey, Oppa, why are you being so mean? I study twice as hard as you, but why am I like this then? Is it because I have bad brains?”

Geon turned his head to look at his sister.

Seeing Si-hwa’s bright eyes burning with anger, his forehead got covered with cold sweat.

He knew that if he dared to touch Si-hwa in this mode, he would be nagged all day long.

He pulled his chair out and started walking backwards.

“Oh…Ah. That’s all I wanted to say. I just said that it would be better if you study the textbook this way.”

Si-hwa stood up and followed him while placing her hand on his arm.

“You’re a genius, I’m a fool, so I can’t do it?”

Although he was a fifth-grader in elementary school, she couldn’t easily think to overlook her brother, who was already 170 cm tall. Although Si-hwa was no match for him by strength, she had the ability to bring Geon to the brink of death with her mouth.

He was afraid of Si-hwa, her nagging bothered him even in his sleep, forcing him to open his eyes.

“I-it’s not like that. Why are you being like this?”

Si-hwa came close to him with her arms folded over her chest.

“Oppa, do you know what will happen if you don’t help me solve my workbook today?”

He was slowly pushed back, and got cornered.

“Okay I got it…I’ll help.”

Si-hwa glared at Geon for a while and then turned her back to him, to sit at her desk.

She pretended to be angry. She knew if Geon helped her, she would solve the workbook quickly.

Feeling better, Si-hwa smiled.

Geon couldn’t look at Si-hwa’s face, but only looking at Si-hwa’s back made him sweat.

As soon as he grabbed the door handle, Si-hwa’s head turned.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you going to help me with my workbook?”

Geon instantly hardened while holding the door handle.

“Oh, no. I’m going to get some water. Wait a bit.”

Si-hwa jumped up and opened the door.

“I need to drink water too. Let’s go together.”

They opened the door of the refrigerator.

There was a 1000 ml milk carton in the refrigerator. Geon used to drink 1000 ml of milk in one go.  He has liked milk since he was young.

Geon grabbed the milk carton with his hand and drank it without thinking.

Si-hwa, who was looking at Geon with a glass of water in her hand, said, “Oppa,  you the tallest in your class.  Is it because you drank a lot of milk, that you grew taller than your homeroom teacher?”

Geon said, wiping his mouth, “Oh, you could say that. Drink lots of milk and you’ll grow tall. Drink more.”

Si-hwa shook her head and said, “Whenever I drink milk, I get diarrhoea.”

At this time, they heard a familiar voice calling the two of them in the main room.

“Geon, Si-hwa. Come to mom’s room for a moment.”

After listening to their mother’s voice they headed to her room.

Tae-woo and Yeong-ha were sitting side by side in the room.

Si-hwa jumped onto the bed and sat in-between of them.

Geon sat on the edge of the bed.

Tae-woo looked at the children and said, “My dears, you’ve grown up. Father has called you to make a major announcement.”

Geon and Si-hwa looked at Tae-woo with curious eyes.

He smiled, showing his teeth, looking alternately at Geon and Si-hwa.

“Let’s go to Seoul. Have you heard of Seoul? It’s a big city. Let’s go live in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.”

Geon and Si-hwa were surprised.

They had never been to Seoul. They only heard that it was the place where the president lived from TV news and that it was a big city.

Children’s opinions were not important anyway, and the two, who had no choice but to do what adults wanted, bid goodbye to their close friends at school. In fact, their family moved here and there a lot to make money, often shifting to rented houses in Busan. Geon and Si-hwa had already transferred seven times before, so there was nothing special.

Geon’s family moved to Seoul before the winter vacation when he was about to go to 6th grade.