Chapter 211

Baek Bong Gon, holder of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 37, the Magong Factory.

He lived with the pride that his ancestors created the finest magical tools during the 19th century, defending their homeland from foreign invasions during the Byeongin and Sinmi Wars.

However, at some point, magical tools transformed from essentials into luxury items, and he realized that he was no longer needed in Korea during the “Yabim Noraim” war.

All the makeshift magical writing devices had been modernized, falling far short of the quality produced by Swiss artisans.

“So, your grandfather is looking for a successor now?”

Baek Ho Chan, having listened to his life story, asked subtly.

Baek Bong Gon chuckled and shook his head.

“At my age, I’m already eighty-four this year. I wouldn’t be able to teach a successor for twenty years or more. Do you think I’ll live to one hundred?”

“Oh, come on, you have to live long, right?”

“Well, I’m grateful to hear that, Ho Chan.”

He had already given up searching for a successor long ago.

Even if he wanted to teach now, unfortunately, there was not much time left.

“But if you really want this piece of data, I hope at least your values align with mine. Oh, there’s that child coming down now. Ho Chan, go to my room and bring the gayageum.”

“I need the keycard to get in.”

“Don’t start with that nonsense. Here!”

“Why does someone who dislikes Western culture so much have a door lock in their own room…?”

“Hurry up and bring it back!”

“Okay!”

Baek Ho Chan ran home, carrying a huge gayageum on his shoulder from Baek Hoon Jang’s room.

On the curved rectangular wooden board, there were 25 white strings hanging.

It was a 25-string gayageum.

As Baek Ho Chan was almost to the pavilion when he nearly tripped over a stone, curse words slipped out of Baek Hoon Jang’s mouth.

“You’re so clumsy! Look at that! Even that nameless one coming down the mountain is jumping around just fine.”

“Nameless is still young. My back hurts every time I jump.”

“Is that something to say in front of an eighty-year-old man!”

“But what’s that around their neck?”

Dodging a swinging cane aimed at his thigh, Baek Ho Chan squinted at the nameless one who was running towards them.

Upon closer inspection, it looked like a scarf, but it was difficult to tell what it really was.

At his words, Arin, Min Woo, and Professor Cheon turned their heads simultaneously toward the nameless one.

“What could that be?”

Once the nameless one fully descended the back hill, they briefly disappeared behind the wall.

Finally, upon arriving in front of the group, everyone stood up with wide eyes.

“B… B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b… Snake!”

“Hey! Where did you find that!?”

Arin screamed and backed into the corner, followed closely by Min Woo.

“W-wait, that’s a dead body, right? You brought that from the mountain, right?”

Thanks to growing up in the countryside, Baek Ho Chan, normally familiar with rural life, was also overwhelmed by the snake’s size and stuttered.

How such a massive snake could have been brought this far was a mystery.

The nameless one tilted their head.

“Oh, this is…”

Ssss—

At that moment, a black snake, resting its head on the nameless one’s back, suddenly raised its head.

They could see the vertically split pupils up close.

“AAAH!”

“It’s alive, you crazy!”

“Nameless! Throw that away quickly!”

The snake twisted its body as if trying to escape.

“AAAAAH it’s moving! It’s moving!”

“Uncle, do something quick! Can’t we kill it?”

“How can I kill something that big? This isn’t a worm!”

Then the nameless one grasped the snake’s neck firmly with their small hand.

The recently restless reptile quieted down and hung limply.

They released the snake, which had been coiling around their neck, back to the ground.

The snake, recovering its senses upon smelling the damp earth, disappeared into the nearby grass.

“People can’t kill that because it’s an endangered species. I just brought it to show you.”

“People… who… who did?”

[‘Aristotelfo’ donated 5,000 won!]

– Ha… the broadcast is finally over… it was more thrilling than the T-Express.

[‘Unnikilchi’ donated 1,000 won!]

– Please don’t do that again next time, Nameless! It really felt like my heart would drop.

[‘Magical Jo’ donated 1,000 won!]

– LOL, the naturalists in the broadcast will have to step up after seeing Nameless.

[‘Bored Today’ donated 10,000 won!]

– Completed the snake training for viewers (?)

[‘No Name Should Be Protected’ donated 30,000 won!]

– I will never call Nameless a child again. You can buy alcohol and cigarettes at convenience stores without an ID. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

***

“Gayageum battle?”

Baek Hoon Jang narrated to the nameless one about being born in Durido, receiving skills from his father, the great feats of his ancestors, and the unique magical tools he created.

Some in the audience, having already heard the stories from the beginning, alternated between yawning and dozing off.

“True. While skills may disappear, our ancestors’ spirits remain in our hearts and will never fade away. And since ancient times, music has been the essence of the spirit.”

Ding—

Baek Hoon Jang began tuning the strings.

“If I hadn’t been born on this island, I would have become a holder of the gayageum sanjo and byeongchang, not of the magical factory.”

“Once again, forced or not—”

“Hey! Who said forced!”

He was indeed a holder of the magical factory and also a student of gayageum sanjo.

In the gayageum sanjo, there is ‘Hwimori.’

In the sanjo rhythm, it is played at the fastest tempo from the beginning in a hurry.

His right hand began to gracefully pluck the gayageum.

The calloused hand revealed rich lows and highs, producing a clear sound.

Conversely, his gaze was fixed solely on his left hand.

The left hand trembled, adding vibrancy and life to the resonance.

In the tension, the melody revealed a sense of yearning, creating a somber atmosphere.

Viewers unexpectedly experienced a feast for the ears, and overwhelming praise for the electrifying artistry continued.

– Wow, insane! Traditional clothes grandpa class.

– Is this traditional music? This is legendary…

– This is the rural romance.

– What were we fighting with teammates in the game for?

└ What is self-reflection? LOL

– Full marks, full marks…

– This is a performance I’ve never experienced before.

– For real, it’s divine. LOL

– Is this a gayageum? What I knew…

– Where is this? I want to visit.

└ Yes, it’s the Bermuda Triangle.

└ They say it’s an uninhabited island.

“Cough!”

Baek Bong Gon, stroking his white beard.

Perhaps he was pleased with his performance after a long absence from playing.

“Anyway, if you can perform this level of sanjo, I recognize you. I won’t set a strict deadline, but I will never acknowledge music without soul.”

“No, wait, Grandpa! This is too much!”

“What’s too much?”

“This is a level that doesn’t come from just a day or two…”

“Then is it reasonable for that child to play aura at a lower step?”

“But…”

Aura could be dismissed as a natural talent of the nameless one.

However, performance requires both talent and effort, doesn’t it?

That extraordinary memorization of the Analects in an hour was impressive, but Baek Bong Gon expected more.

Baek Ho Chan gritted his teeth.

At this rate, the nameless one would be trapped on this hellish island as well.

The children needed to have food prepared in sufficient quantities and one more study guide to transcribe.

Did that child have any talent in music? If not, how many more years would they have to stay here?

Baek Ho Chan could not shake off these thoughts.

“What exactly do you mean by soul, sir?”

At the nameless one’s penetrating question, the master looked thoughtful.

“The soul is something eternal and unchanging. A message that cannot be expressed merely in notes and is accompanied by admiration for the unknown creator.”

The nameless one began weaving in their mind the style Baek Bong Gon desired.

Gayageum, eternal unchanging, message, and admiration.

The passion expressed with words by Baek Hoon Jang was mechanically reassembled.

“Shall I try playing?”

“Just sit like this.”

The master demonstrated the correct posture for playing the gayageum.

Only by stretching out the arms could one barely reach the strings.

The nameless one, touching the instrument for the first time, asked for guidance.

Ding—

“Is this right?”

“Correct.”

Ding ding ding—

“That would hurt your fingers, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s okay. I’ll use aura.”

The calluses that the master had were substituted with the aura for the nameless one.

For the sections the arms couldn’t reach, they adjusted their upper body to extend.

With the nameless one growing accustomed to all the scales, they practiced chords and arpeggios in order.

“Haha, do you have experience with instruments before?”

“Yes, a few times.”

The nameless one had already mastered the pitches perfectly.

Perhaps Baek Hoon Jang’s final exam, created after much consideration, would soon come to an end.

“Do you hate the academy that much, Master?”

“Ah! I hate it! Just hearing about it makes me shudder!”

“Then you must dislike this modern wand too.”

The nameless one took out a wand and showed it to him.

“I think there’s no right or wrong in art. There’s only beauty and ugliness. I don’t know how you defined the soul, but if I dare take a guess, I believe the soul resides in detachment.”

“The soul comes from detachment?”

“Feeling beauty in money comes from personal gain in the other values money provides. On the other hand, if you find the flower petals blooming on the street beautiful, that’s simply because they are beautiful.”

Click—

“What are you…?”

“I’ll return it after the performance.”

A small cylinder was attached to the end of the gayageum.

Just like Baek Hoon Jang did earlier, the nameless one started to tune it.

‘It should already be perfectly in tune, right?’

It was at a moment when a question arose.

“Arin, could you hold the phone and film it like this?”

“Like this?”

“Yes. Just hold it for a little while, even if your arm hurts.”

“Okay, got it!”

Now, the broadcasting screen of the nameless one totally transitioned to Arin.

Having completed all preparations, the nameless one activated the wand and blew mana into the injector part.

[Cast: Frequency Modulation]

Ding—

“…!”

“How is it?”

“Wow, how did you do that?”

As the nameless one lightly plucked the strings, a metallic sound instead of a clear tone resonated.

The sound typical of an electric guitar emerged from the gayageum.

The sound lingered in their ears for a long time.

“Sol Mi Fa Sol Mi Fa. This almost sounds like the Canon Variations, right?”

“Wow, that’s amazing! It’s identical! How did you do it?”

Admiration escaped from Baek Min Woo’s lips.

He crawled close to the nameless one, curious about the principle behind it.

“It’s the principle of the synthesizer. But, will you sit there? Then you’ll be in the broadcast.”

“Oh? Um… I don’t think it matters… yeah.”

The boy now showed even more interest in the nameless one’s performance.

Rock metal music was coming from the gayageum now; as a boy, how could he possibly hold back?

The viewers felt the same way.

– How did you do that? HAHAHAHA

– Gayageum (rock/metal)

– We have a haegeum at home; I’ll instantly try to replicate it.

– The master looks shocked! LOL

– This… This isn’t a traditional instrument!

– Playing the Canon on a gayageum would be incredibly romantic.

– Will we get to see the nameless one?

– Don’t tell me they have musical talent too? This makes no sense!

└ What can’t they do?

“Shall we start now?”

With his arms crossed and showing minimal reaction, Baek Hoon Jang subtly nodded.

“Master, you said the soul is something eternal and unchanging, right? So I hope you can recognize the essence of my piece.”

The nameless one disliked being tested.

The position of a princess who had lived for decades in a previous life wouldn’t easily change.

Therefore, she set a dual trap.

If Baek Hoon Jang had insisted on adhering strictly to the traditions of the gayageum, the nameless one would have had to struggle for several days. However, he only mentioned the essence.

While she didn’t know much about pansori style songs, she was familiar with many classical pieces infused with what he called ‘soul.’

If Baek Hoon Jang questioned her performance by saying it lacked ‘soul,’ she would confront him about why he couldn’t see the essence.

This was a test for both of them.

With golden aura wrapped around ten fingers, the nameless one finally began to play the gayageum.

Starting in A minor, the five-minute performance titled “Caprice No. 24 for Unaccompanied Violin” contained the spirit of Niccolò Paganini, who sold his soul to the devil.

***

Even if they spoke grandly about soul and essence, in the end, a person’s nature does not change.

It is to prove that I am superior to you.

Otherwise, Baek Bong Gon would not have chosen Hwimori.

He showcased all the techniques that could be produced from the gayageum, from which one could feel a sense of superiority typical of someone who had reached the peak of their art.

After all, having spent decades in solitude on this island, he must have been incredibly thirsty for recognition.

Despite no one acknowledging him, he dedicated his life solely to preserving Korean traditional culture.

With thousands watching him live and applauding, he finally smiled widely and revealed his real feelings.

While I wanted to cheer for his future till the end, he eventually tested me, and I merely responded.

I will answer with transcendent skills.

This is pure music that wields enough power to defeat all the nobles who sought to brag about their violin in the previous life.

Legato variations of sixteenth notes.

Double stops of octaves.

Techniques that traversed low and high notes simultaneously.

Variations based on groups of sixteenth-note triplets.

And endless arpeggios.

All executed like the pizzicato of Caprice No. 24 Variation 9.

Because this is a gayageum.

That is to say, it is a rearrangement made to fit the gayageum spontaneously—there was some concern about it.

Seeing Baek Bong Gon’s face, his wrinkles doubling, it seemed the performance was executed flawlessly as I intended.

Extreme immersion can sometimes make one forget their own performance; at times, I could not hear the music I had played.

This would later become a memory, but when I left the island with Arin, I first confirmed the video of my gayageum performance on TikTok.

[An 8-Year-Old Kid’s Captivating Gayageum Performance That Moved Even the Python (Metal ver.)]

[Views: 3.08 million]

Additionally, an old video from a pajama party that Haru uploaded also resurfaced.

[Is This Otamatone Girl the Same Person Ranking Now?]

[Views: 1.31 million]