Big News! Unlock More Chapters Every Week!
Hey everyone! Your favorite author, Mike, here with a super cool way for you to get even more chapters of your beloved novels every single week! I'm talking about more daily releases, and it all depends on you!
How to Get More Chapters on Webnovel!
It's simple: Weekly "Power Stone" Goals!
For every 200 Power Stones collected across all my novels on Webnovel each week, I'll add one extra chapter per day for the entire following week!
Hit 200 Power Stones? You get 3 chapters daily instead of 2!Hit 400 Power Stones? That's 4 chapters daily!...and so on, all the way up to 7 chapters daily if you hit 1000 Spirit Stones in a week!
These daily chapter boosts will run from Monday to Sunday of the following week, then reset for the next challenge!
Patreon Free Members: Another Way to Boost Chapters!
But wait, there's more! We can push those daily chapters even higher with a little help from my Patreon!
For every 10 new FREE members who join my Patreon each week, I'll add another extra chapter per day!
If 10 new free members join, that's an extra daily chapter.If 20 new free members join, that's 2 extra daily chapters!
Remember, even free Patreon members get 10 advanced chapters of all my novels compared to Webnovel, so it's a win-win! Find my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/iLikeeMikee
The Ultimate Goal: Up to 12 Chapters Daily!
Combined, we can reach an incredible maximum of 12 chapters per day across all my novels!
Let's say in one week we hit 1000 Power Stones on Webnovel and50 new free members join on Patreon. That would mean you get 12 chapters daily (7 from Spirit Stones + 5 from Patreon members) for the entire following week!
Special Bonus for Patreon Subscribers!
And for those of you who subscribe to a paid tier on my Patreon (starting at just $5!), if we hit these awesome weekly goals, you'll enjoy a massive 15 chapters daily during that boosted week! That's right, even more content just for you, my dedicated supporters!
Let's smash these goals and get tons of chapters every week! Your support makes all this possible!
And now, without further ado, let's continue with the chapter!
- - - -
Chapter 56
"What did you learn from those two guys?", was another question thrown at Soo-hyun. He, who briefly met Beethoven's gaze, wrote without hesitation:
"To suggest poetry that is subtle and without flashy brilliance."
"Also?"
"A performance that captivates the soul like the brightest and most beautiful peacock feathers."
Beethoven showed his teeth and laughed.
'The first must have been learned from Chopin, and the second must have been learned from Liszt. It's funny. It's so funny I'm rolling with laughter. A boy whose teachers were two friends who were pianists with two of the most different styles in human history. I'm dying to see how this child will grow up.'
"Tell me your story," Beethoven wrote.
'I wonder how you lived and what you do now. It's not a boy I'm fond of. I just saw him today, but isn't it curious that I'm fond of him? Besides, Beethoven didn't like children. His appearance in that state was just for fun.'
Soo-hyun calmly observed Beethoven and wrote.
"So what will you give me?"
Beethoven frowned.
'He's a daring boy. He's the type of boy who dares to expect something in return. The children who came to him to learn music while he was still alive would wet their pants just by making eye contact. But the boy in front of me is different. Is he brave?'
"Are you not afraid of me?"
Beethoven himself knew what his impression was. An extremely stubborn, irritable, and grumpy face. Let's hear this boy's answer. Soo-hyun handed over a note.
'What's that?'
Beethoven, who had read the text with a surprised face, suddenly burst out laughing.
"Poohahahahahahahahahaha!!!"
The voice he heard for the first time was a laugh. He hadn't spoken for so long that his voice was hoarse and made a phlegmy sound. He laughed for a long time, then suddenly stopped and stared at Soo-hyun. His expression was terrifying.
'You don't know what fear is? You don't know what fear is because you are a brave child, aren't you?''That's a misunderstanding. That's not what I meant.''No, being afraid is an emotion. I've been with old men for so long that I can't define emotions. What does it mean to be afraid?'
Beethoven stared at Soo-hyun for a long time, trying to figure out the truth of the unexpected answer. But the boy's eyes were so pure. It seemed he really didn't know. Beethoven stared at Soo-hyun for a moment and then wrote again.
"So this is why they sent you into the world."
Soo-hyun nodded.
'Because the old men who told me to go out into the world said the same thing.'
Beethoven wrote again after seeing Soo-hyun like that. He stared at Soo-hyun without looking at his notebook as he wrote, then held his notebook up in front of the boy's eyes.
"You're learning about emotions, so I guess I can teach you."
Soo-hyun frowned.
'I'm also learning from teachers Eun-joo Kim and Chan-ho Lee. Do I really have to learn from this old man? And what kind of emotions is he teaching me?'
Beethoven, still writing while looking at Soo-hyun, showed another piece of writing.
"Fear and anger. I'll teach you."
The moment Soo-hyun looked surprised and tried to look at Beethoven's face, his eyes began to spin. Objects became distorted, his sense of balance disappeared, and his body swayed.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Beethoven's broken voice, with which he had only spoken in writing until now, echoed in his head. "Don't close your eyes. As soon as you avoid it, fear will consume you."
He forced his eyes, which were about to close, to open wide. A distorted, separated, and then reunified world. The pieces of the world that were divided into squares rearranged themselves and were drawn back together. The dizziness gradually disappeared and the pieces fell back into place, remaking the world.
"Here…"
Somehow it felt familiar. A narrow street covered in red cloth. Chairs on both sides. One of the cars of a train going up. From the window, a spectacular view could be seen. Steep mountains, clouds hanging on the hillside, sheep running through the wide fields.
But Soo-hyun was surprised when he saw the landscape outside the window.
"Hey, this is… this is…."
This was the train going up to the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. A cold sweat ran down Soo-hyun's back. His whole body was trembling. At that moment, Soo-hyun heard a familiar Korean voice in his ears.
"Dad, I've heard of this before." "Yes, there's also a piano academy in front of my house." "Piano?"
Soo-hyun's eyes widened as if they were going to pop out and he swayed as if he were going to fall.
'This conversation. It's familiar. I remember it clearly.'
Soo-hyun raised his head and saw the backs of his family sitting at the front of the train.
'Of course not. Of course not? Right? Right?'
Tears ran down Soo-hyun's cheeks.
"Mom… Dad…."
A child was glued to the window. A child who was excited to see the outside landscape. A man and a woman were smiling at the sight. They were Mom and Dad. Soo-hyun staggered towards his family.
"Mom?"
Mom, with her long black hair tied back and wearing a sweater over a one-piece dress. It was exactly the same image of his mother in Soo-hyun's last memory. The mother smiled, crinkling her eyes, and patted the child's bottom.
"Do you like it that much, our Soo-hyun? We should have brought you sooner. Haha."
'Our... Soo-hyun?'
He quickly turned his head to look at the child. The child, who had been drawing by blowing on the window, smiled and turned around.
"Yes! I love it!"
Soo-hyun staggered. It was because he was like when he was a child. The family members didn't even notice Soo-hyun was next to them. He heard his father's longing voice.
"I'm sorry. Actually, this trip is called a honeymoon." "What's a honeymoon?"
Dad smiled brightly, made eye contact with Mom, then pulled Soo-hyun closer and sat him on his lap.
"My father, you know, was very poor. When I married my mother, I only had two million won in my bank account. So we couldn't get married or go on a honeymoon. When you get married and go on a trip together, it's called a honeymoon." "Really? So now is your honeymoon?"
Dad touched Mom's cheek, looked into her eyes, and said.
"Yes, it was our honeymoon and our first family trip. After Soo-hyun was born, I worked my fingers to the bone. And now we're in the house where we live. Soo-hyun said he liked our house, right?" "Yes! I love it!"
Mom said, nudging Dad with her shoulder.
"You worked harder. What did I do?"
Dad said, wrapping his arm around Mom's shoulder.
"If it weren't for you, Soo-hyun and I wouldn't exist. I was able to gain strength because you held on."
Mom hugged Dad's arms tightly, feeling good about his warm words. Little Soo-hyun, perhaps feeling unnecessarily jealous, pushed his bottom between his father and mother and rubbed it to create space. The faces of a family smiling with happy faces.
'It doesn't matter if I can't see myself. I'm so glad I can see my parents, whom I've always dreamed of.'
Soo-hyun sobbed and wiped away the tears that were blocking his eyes. At that moment, Beethoven's voice echoed in Soo-hyun's head. "You probably already know what's going to happen. Do you have time to waste?"
Soo-hyun's body trembled as if he had been struck by lightning. Beethoven was right. In a little while, the train would derail and everyone here would die.
"Mom!!! Dad!!!"
People who didn't answer when he called them. He ran with all his might. He reached out with the intention of grabbing his father's shoulder and shaking him, but it was like touching water, and only ripples formed.
"Dad! Mom! Please! Please, you have to listen to me, please!"
But still, the family leaned on each other and dreamed of a bright future. The more this happened, the more Soo-hyun cried and shouted. The world was distorted again.
"Oh, no! Not yet!"
Mom's face and Dad's sturdy back also began to break into pieces.
"No!!!"
Soo-hyun had no choice but to close his eyes. He was told not to, but he closed them tightly and cried. A cool, fresh wind brushed his nose. He was on the train tracks. At that moment, he heard a young voice.
"Can you really make a joke like that? If mom finds out, you'll be in trouble." "You're a coward. It's just going to be a little scary and that's it." "But… isn't it dangerous?" "If you don't want to do it, don't do it! From today on, your nickname will be Coward."
Two children with freckles on their faces. A mischievous child was holding a large rock in his hand and placing it on the tracks.
"I'm not a coward!!!"
The boy who was called a coward frowned. The boy who was behind him looked around. Then he brought a bigger stone and placed it on the tracks.
'Are we really saying that 88 innocent victims, including our family members, were created by a little joke like that?'
Then, one of the children, who was moving stones, felt hot and took off the sweater he was wearing.
"I'll lift a bigger stone!"
Soo-hyun, who was watching the children with a blank look, felt the ground vibrate.
'Children... It's dangerous. A train is coming. Get out of the way!'
"Hey! Here it comes!" "Hehehe! You'd be surprised, right? Let's go to the forest over there and see!" "Okay!!"
The children ran and hid behind the trees in the forest. Then one of them spoke urgently.
"Ah! My clothes!" "It's too late! It's dangerous to go now! You can already see the train over there!"
Hooooonk!!!
The train honked. As Soo-hyun was staring at the train, he noticed a sweater placed on top of a pile of rocks. From then on, everything seemed to be in slow motion. A train passing by, pushing aside stones. A sweater hanging on a large pile of rocks quickly wrapped around the train's wheels, and the wheels that were following the tracks slipped and derailed due to the sweater. The train, which was going up the cliff road, fell off the cliff as if someone was pulling it from behind.
The two boys who were hiding in the forest and laughing were surprised by what they had done. It was just a joke. It shouldn't have come to this. Soo-hyun saw a train falling down a steep cliff. And then a small child was seen jumping out of the open window.
Craaaaaash!!!
Smoke, flames. A momentary roar followed by a dense silence. There were no desperate screams, only the sound of frightened birds flapping their wings as they flew away. Soo-hyun, who was looking at the train with bloodshot eyes, clenched his fists.
"Just because… it was just a children's joke?"
In Soo-hyun's eyes, he saw frightened children crying and running away hastily. Soo-hyun, with his eyes wide open, ran towards the two children with a look in his eyes as if he were going to kill them at any moment.
"You bastards!"