Devil’s Music

There was nothing special about their date. They just had ice cream at an ice cream shop and spent time on the sofa back at Red Castle, where they played together.

As the weather got colder, Kiska enjoyed the routine-like times spent together on the white swing that would soon be unusable, finding happiness in just that.

Since her flight was at 7 PM, Geon, amid the crowded airport, had wrapped his face up and held her hand as they walked.

As the well-proportioned couple entered the airport, waiting passengers focused their gaze on them, murmuring among themselves.

"Wow, look at that woman. She's incredibly beautiful."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"The man has his face covered, but just from their proportions, he seems like a very handsome man. Maybe they're a model couple?"

"The woman has shown her face, but since the man hasn't, maybe he's someone famous? Like an actor."

"It seems so, but I feel like I've seen that woman somewhere before. Who is she?"

"Ah, I've been feeling like I recognize her face, but I can't remember who she is."

No one recognized the suddenly grown-up Kiska, but because her childhood photos had been circulated through various articles, people tilted their heads, noting her resemblance to the girl in those images.

Holding Kiska's hand in silence, Geon spoke as they reached the departure gate.

"Take care and act cute there since dad is angry."

Kiska, seemingly reluctant to leave, shuffled her feet and looked down.

She moved her lips, hesitating to speak, and Geon, after checking his watch, said.

"We need to go now. You'll be late for the flight."

As Kiska felt his stroking hand, she slightly nodded and turned around.

After taking a few steps, she turned back to see Geon smiling at her.

She pursed her lips, hesitating again to speak. Unable to hear her, Geon leaned forward and asked.

"Huh? What did you say?"

Kiska moved her lips again, but her words remained unheard. Geon shrugged as if to say he couldn't hear, and Kiska, playfully sticking out her tongue, smiled.

Geon laughed at her playful expression and waved his hand once more, and Kiska, waving back broadly, smiled and turned around.

Though she had been smiling just when their eyes met, her face turned sad as soon as she turned away.

"Idiot. I love you."

After that, Kiska never looked back again. Geon watched her show her passport and boarding pass at the departure gate until the very end.

"Thought she might look back one more time…"

Even after Kiska had disappeared, Geon stood there for about 20 minutes.

He thought seeing Kiska would ease his heart, but the brief encounter left him feeling only emptiness and loneliness. As he began to walk out of the airport, his phone vibrated, and he answered the call. 𝘳

"Hello?"

"Brother, it's me."

"Uh? What's this number, Kiska?"

"Public phone in the airport."

"What about your phone?"

"Turned it off, afraid dad might scold me."

"Oh, I see."

After a quick glance at his wristwatch, Geon said.

"There's only 10 minutes left until the plane takes off. You should board now."

"Yeah… I should."

"It was nice seeing your face, but since dad's worried, ask for permission next time."

"Yeah…"

"I know you flew in this morning and are heading back this afternoon; must be tiring. Try to get some rest on the plane."

"Yeah…"

"Make sure to call me when you arrive. I'm worried."

"Yeah…"

"Say something else besides 'yeah,' heh."

"Yeah…"

"Ah, got me. Alright, really have to hang up now. Go inside."

"Yeah…"

"Alright then, goodbye."

"…Brother."

"Huh? Why?"

"When I come back, will you be with me every day like before?"

"Of course, we'll hang out every day just like old times."

"Yeah… thank you. Good luck with the album preparation."

"Yeah, go on now."

"…"

"Hello? Did it hang up?"

"Brother."

"Oh, it hasn’t hung up."

"I miss you every day. I think of you all the time."

"…Yeah, did you?"

"Don't lie. You've been too busy with the album to have time for anything else."

"Haha, did it show? Sorry, I've been really busy lately."

"Just think of me once a day, even when we're not talking."

"…Yeah, I promise."

"You really promised! Now I really have to go, I'll contact you from Georgia, brother!"

"Yeah! Go on!"

As the call disconnected, Geon stared at the blank screen of his phone and stretched lazily.

Looking in the direction of Kiska’s departing plane, Geon

smiled.

"Alright, time to wrap up the final preparations?"

*

The next day.

Fantagio's official website announced the release date of Geon's regular album. News of the album sales starting on November 21st and the release of the music video for "Song of the Wind" drew global attention to the website.

Three days later, in the office of the Berlin Report in Germany.

A man with unusually large, curly hair was writing articles late into the night.

As he lifted his head from his laptop screen, illuminated only by the screen's light in the dark office, he took a sip of his cooled coffee when someone entered the office.

"Huh? Jens, haven't you gone home yet?"

Jens, a Black man, smiled as he showed two cups of takeaway coffee and doughnuts.

"Your coffee's gone cold, huh? Have one."

"Wow, I was just craving a warm coffee. Thanks."

"Haha, what a coffee addict you are."

Unpacking the coffee, Jens sat next to Paul and handed him a cup.

"What's this article that's keeping you up so late? Looks like something from the medical field, but you're from the society section."

Seeing the medical graphs on Paul’s laptop, Jens asked as Paul warmed his hands with the hot coffee and spoke with a serious expression.

"It's top secret, I'm only reporting it to the director and writing a feature article. Actually, my brother runs a private hospital in the US. But recently, there’s been a strange rumor circulating among doctors."

Jens intuitively sensed something significant and asked in a subtle tone.

"What is it?"

Paul manipulated the touchpad on his laptop and said.

"Look at this. Dr. Murphy, the director of a downtown hospital in New York, and Supervisor Larry presented this at a medical seminar."

"Looks like data on therapeutic effects. Musiktherapie (Music Therapy)?"

"Yeah, that's right. But take a closer look at this data."

Jens scrutinized the article Paul showed him. Paul had written the difficult article in simple terms so that laypeople could understand, making it easy to grasp.

As Jens carefully read the article, his eyes widened.

"What is this? Does this make sense?"

Seeing Jens's astonishment, Paul turned the laptop screen towards himself as if he knew this would happen.

"Hard to believe, right? I thought it was a joke at first, but now, the entire medical community is abuzz. They're verifying the data on this music's effects, and Robert Tempest, the dean of medicine in the US, even visited the downtown hospital in New York because of it."

"So? So, it’s verified or what?"

"It’s not certain yet, but the fact that Robert Tempest didn’t block the academic presentation suggests it might be true."

"What? But how is this possible? It’s common for liver cancer patients to experience extreme pain until death, but to be comfortable until death? And for patients with depression and bipolar disorder to recover nearly to normal? Sounds like something out of a cartoon."

"That’s what I mean. Plus, look at this. There’s a record on Alzheimer's patients. Although it hasn't cured them, the progression of Alzheimer's has stopped for four months without the disease advancing at all."

Jens looked intently at the screen with a serious expression.

"Who else knows about this?"

"Just the director, you, and me."

"No, not our newspaper, other journalists."

"Don’t know, maybe others have gotten hold of the info like I have."

"Then we need to break this news fast. What are you waiting for?"

"Haha, that’s why I’m working overtime. But why did you come?"

"I'm from the entertainment section. K’s regular album release is right around the corner, so I need to monitor Fantagio’s website 24/7. But about that music, who created it? Did a doctor make it for therapeutic purposes?"

Paul chuckled and lifted the coffee Jens had bought.

"Let's just call it even for the coffee."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Paul manipulated the touchpad and showed the top of the article.

[Article Title] K. Healing the sick with music!

Seeing the article title, Jens stood up abruptly and exclaimed.

"What!! K made this music?!!"

Paul spun his chair around and laughed.

"Yeah, and it’s also part of the tracks on this regular album."

"Wow!! Man, you should have told me earlier! So, how’s the music?"

Paul shrugged.

"I haven't been able to listen yet. I tried sneaking into the hospital to hear it, but they only do music therapy before or after visiting hours. So unless you’re medical staff or a patient, you can’t hear it."

Jens looked dismayed and hurriedly turned on his PC. Seeing him suddenly fire up his PC, Paul wheeled his chair over and asked.

"What are you doing all of a sudden?"

"Booking a flight

ticket."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"To New York, maybe I can find something around the hospital."

"Forget it, it's absolutely confidential. I asked the hospital staff, and they said K offered the music free for the medical community, so they won't share it."

"Damn! But I have to try!"

"Give it up, the director also said to let it go, probably because K did it out of goodwill, and the hospital staff are trying to honor his spirit. The director even spent some money trying to extract information."

"Huh? On the doctors?"

"Yeah, he offered laundered cash, but they absolutely refused, and even when he managed to book a fancy restaurant to offer them a meal, they wouldn't even show their faces. Funny thing, not just the doctors but also the nurses and nursing aides clammed up."

"What… what did they do to get every staff member to protect the music like this? Was there some kind of deal?"

"No, they said it's just out of respect for K’s gesture towards the patients."

"Since when has the US medical community been so clean?"

"That’s what I'm saying, ha! Anyway, give up, it's going to be public in a few days anyway."

"Aaagh!!! This could be a scoop! A chance to make my name known to the world! I could even aim for a Pulitzer!"

"Haha, you’d be lucky not to get buried if you released K's pre-release music article. If K's fans find out, you’d be stoned? For them, K is like a god, beyond even an angel."

"Ah well. I guess he's earned that reputation. Amazing, for someone who hasn’t even graduated from school yet."

Resigning himself from chasing the exclusive story, Jens habitually typed Fantagio’s address into the internet browser and waited for it to load, mumbling with a blank expression.

"What’s this…?"

Seeing Jens's unusual expression, Paul leaned over to look at the PC, his expression soon mirroring Jens's as he mumbled.

"A teaser… a teaser video?"

>

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